


Kissed by the Starlight

by Caryscookie



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 81,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22752439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caryscookie/pseuds/Caryscookie
Summary: When The Doctor left Rose Tyler on Bad Wolf Bay for the second time with a human meta-crisis of himself, he thought he'd given her a happy ending. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Rose Tyler is dying, and to save her wolf and her thief both, the TARDIS decides to do the impossible and set things right by re-writing time itself. [Eventually a Doomsday and S3 re-write onwards]
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler
Comments: 89
Kudos: 162





	1. Rose Tyler

**Author's Note:**

> Originally I wrote this story on fanfiction dot net, so if this seems familiar, this would be why! I've started to re-write and re-work the story, and I got sudden random inspiration to continue it! I'll update the story on FF too when I reach the new chapter i'm currently finishing up! 
> 
> This type of story has been done SO many times, but I wanted to try my hand at it and give things my own personal spin! This is a ‘Rose dies and wakes up in her old body’ story which eventually becomes a s3 re-write, but the re-write actually begins at army of ghosts/doomsday.

“Thanks for coming over today, sweetheart, I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to make it, but Tony’s been so excited thinkin’ you were coming down.”

Rose looked up from where she was applying sellotape to the wrapping paper of the gift she’d gotten her little brother, eyebrows lifting upwards in a small show of amusement. Her mother was busying herself with the last of Tony’s gifts before he woke up, and Rose was happy to lend a hand.

“Course I came mum, my little brother’s turnin’ seven today!” She pointed out, sticking the gift tag onto the bright green paper before she set it aside with Tony’s other gifts. Her brother was definitely more spoiled than she had been when she was seven, but Jackie and Pete didn’t exactly have a shortage of money in this universe, so Rose could understand their different situations. Besides, she herself was guilty of spoiling her brother with far too many gifts, and he was such a sweet, charming boy, she didn’t think it was doing him any harm.

“I’m just sayin’, I never blooming know what you’re doing and when you’re free half the time, you live in those Torchwood offices, I swear, just like your bloody dad.” Jackie huffed, shaking her head, and Rose resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“I’d rather be kept busy then just sit around at home, doin’ nothing.” Rose offered by way of explanation, idly tapping her fingers against the dining table. “Guess I get kind of restless when I’m not doing anythin’”

“Rose,” Jackie’s words were unexpectedly softer, and Rose froze in response, her defences immediately rising as she recognised the tone of her voice. She knew where this conversation was headed, and frankly, she didn’t want to get into it. Her stomach twisted anxiously and she fixed her gaze on Tony’s pile of gifts, her fingers curled into tight fists. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, love. You’re driving yourself into the ground, he wouldn’t want you to-”

“ _He’s not here, mum_.” Rose’s words were sharper than she intended them to be, her nails digging hard into the palms of her hands, grief and heartache threatening to overwhelm her. “I don’t wanna talk about it, alright?”

“Sweetheart, if anyone knows what you’re going through, it’s _me_. I just wish you’d talk to someone about this.” Jackie insisted, reaching over to cover Rose’s hands with her own. “You’re holding it all in, and it’s been over a year, you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

Inhaling deeply, Rose hated the way her eyes burned at her mother’s words, hated the way she longed to break apart, to curl into her mother’s arms and cry the hurt away, letting Jackie stroke her hair and sing to her, like she always had when she was sad. She hated how she knew Jackie was right, but she couldn’t do it, she still hadn’t quite accepted he was gone, and she was _scared_. She wasn’t ready to move on, and she didn’t think she would ever be.

“I can’t.” Rose’s words were a whisper, her lips feeling suddenly dry, and she ran her tongue over them anxiously, feeling as though she was trying to force the words as her throat tightened. “Please mum, not today, I _can’t_ do this today. This is Tony’s day.”

Jackie’s eyes burned into her daughter’s face, but she sighed, conceding that Rose was ultimately right. She didn’t want her to break down when Tony could be up at any minute, but there was no way she was letting this go. She knew all too well how it felt to lose the person you loved, and she’d be damned if she let Rose bottle up all of her grief. For now, at least, the situation was dropped, and she pulled her hands from her daughters, noting the way her shoulders softened in obvious relief, and she pressed her lips firmly together.

Rose, for her part, relaxed her hands along with her shoulders, her hands aching from the tension in her fingers and the crescent shaped grooves in her palms. She flexed her fingers quietly, unsure on how to change the subject, knowing her mind would soon betray her with thoughts of him if she didn’t start talking soon.

“…Where’s dad?” She asked after a moment, noticing the clear absence of her father in the mansion that morning.

It had taken a long time for Rose and Pete to reach a comfortable father/daughter relationship, but Pete had warmed to her after Tony’s birth, and though they weren’t exceptionally close, he did feel comfortable calling her his daughter, and calling him dad simply felt natural. Rose guessed Pete’s paternal instincts had kicked in once he’d held Tony in his arms, and Rose supposed she could understand. It wasn’t easy, accepting her as his own, when he’d never seen her birth or watched her grow, but knowing she’d been able to build some kind of relationship with him had been uplifting.

Jackie snorted slightly in response, and Rose couldn’t help but grin slightly, glad her mother had taken the distraction for what it was. “He’s workin’, obviously. Like father like bloody daughter, the pair of you are never out of those offices. He worked overnight, so he should be home soon.”

“Good, it’d be a shame if he missed out on Tony’s party,” Rose noted, sticking out her leg to lightly brush her toe against one of the red balloons piled up nearby. She’d spent most of the morning helping her mother prepare, and the servants had helped out a great deal but… This was something they liked to try to do the way they had back on the estate.

“Nah, he never misses out on ‘em if he can help it,” Jackie softened, and Rose smiled faintly, before the sound of running feet caught her attention, and she turned, just in time to watch her little brother sprinting down the stairs, still clad in his pyjamas. His ginger hair was messy and unkempt, but his brown eyes were wide with excitement, and as he skidded into the room, Rose couldn’t help flashing him her famous tongue in teeth grin as he paused upon spotting her.

“Here’s the birthday boy! Hiya Tones!” She pushed herself off of her seat, bending down with her arms outstretched, a clear open invitation. He continued to stare at her, and she let out a soft hum, wiggling her fingers slightly. “Oi! C’mon Tony, bring it in.”

“Rose!” The unexpected sight of his big sister seemed to have caught Tony by surprise, but now he laughed, rushing forward to hug her tightly, and Rose drew him close, closing her eyes and taking comfort in his clear happiness at seeing her. “You came!”

“Course I did,” Rose smiled, pressing a light kiss to the side of his head, able to sense Jackie smiling at the two of them. “It’s your seventh birthday! You’re all grown up, I’m not gonna miss that, am I?”

“You’re always busy, you don’t come over much,” Tony pointed out, and Rose stilled, guilt washing over her in an instant. He did have a point, she hadn’t seen him much over the last year, so caught up in her own issues and emotions, but she would do better, for him, at least.

“I know, I’m a rotten big sister, but I’ll be ‘round more now, I promise.” Rose pulled back from the hug, smoothing back his hair before she planted another kiss to his forehead, prompting him to wrinkle his nose, though he eventually smiled widely at her.

“You swear?” He asked hopefully, and Rose made a point of drawing a cross over her heart to show just how serious she was. He brightened instantly, before turning to look at the large pile of presents, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. He was brimming with excitement, and turned to look at Jackie, his eyes flicking over to the gifts, clearly asking for permission.

“You were s’posed to get dressed first, Tony.” Jackie reminded him, tying her best to remain stern, but Tony pouted in response, bottom lip jutting out, and she snorted, deciding to just give up for now. When it came to her kids birthdays, Jackie Tyler couldn’t help but soften up. “Right then, presents first, but then you’re getting dressed before your birthday breakfast.”

Pumping his fists in excitement, Tony rushed over to the pile, skidding down on his knees over the laminate flooring, and Rose grinned, moving to the couch to sit down, watching as he grasped one of the gifts she’d brought for him. He glanced at the tag, shooting her an excited glance, before he began to tear off the wrapping.

Her gift was in a plain brown box, so he ripped that open, before curiously, he pulled out what looked like a globe, though it was pitch black, and instead of a map of the Earth, constellations were painted on the surface. Tony turned it around, curious, and Rose inched forward, reaching out to him.

“Tony, watch this,” she murmured, pressing a button on the base of the globe. A light lit up the entirety of the sphere, before the constellations seemed to hover off of the surface and began to slowly expand until they, and a multitude of stars seemed to surround them, twinkling faintly. It was a fairly simple hologram, but one she was sure her little brother would LOVE.

“Whoa…” Tony whispered, awed at the sight of the stars surrounding them, and Rose grinned, reaching out to point at a small cluster of stars just opposite them.

“See those stars? That’s actually a small group of planets called Kret, Cur and Lim. The aliens there change colour based on their moods, so they go yellow when they’re happy, blue when they’re sad and red when they’re mad.” She informed him, and Tony’s eyes were shining.

“What colour are they usually?” He asked, and Rose could sense the longing in his voice. Her stories had influenced her little brother greatly, and he longed to be an astronaut when he grew up, just to get a taste of the stars, and she was all too happy to indulge his dreams.

“They kind of shimmer, actually, they don’t have one set colour, they only turn one colour when they’re feeling a certain way.” Rose hummed in consideration, ruffling his hair slightly, and Tony grinned in response, muttering a quiet ‘cool’ under his breath, before he pressed the button to turn the hologram off.

“Where’d you get that?” Jackie asked in surprise, gesturing to the globe. “Got a feeling they don’t exactly sell this kind of stuff on the market.”

Rose let out a laugh in agreement, inclining her head slightly. “No, they don’t. I helped make it in Torchwood labs. It took forever, but I had a lot of help, and it turned out great.”

“He definitely takes after you, always got his bloomin’ head in the stars.” Jackie shook her head fondly as Tony set down the globe carefully, as though it might break if he touched it too roughly, before he immediately grabbed another present from Rose, much smaller than the first. Upon tearing the paper off, he shot her a look, seeing another plain brown box.

“You really like boxes,” He quipped, but Rose simply smiled in response, her stomach twisting nervously. She knew exactly what this gift was, and she didn’t know how he’d react to it. He pulled off the top of the box, only to freeze at the sight of what was inside. A long, silver cylindrical tool with a blue light at the tip rested on a velvet cushion, and both Tony and Jackie turned to look at Rose, stunned by what was clearly a sonic screwdriver.

Uncomfortable under their gazes, Rose twisted her fingers together, steeling herself and sucking in a deep breath.

“John made it,” She blurted out, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, her body stiff. “Before he – well, he knew you loved his screwdriver, Tony, so he made you a little one. It doesn’t do much, just opens doors, really. He wanted you to have it last year, but I couldn’t – I wasn’t…” Rose took another deep breath to try to calm herself down, and slowly, she opened her eyes.

Tony had taken the screwdriver out of the box, tiny fingers wrapped around the cool metal, and he was staring at her with tears in his eyes. Tony had loved John, had loved the stories of his adventures, and she could remember many times where the two of them had played pretend, with Tony being The Doctor, while John pretended to be some kind of alien for him to defeat. Tony hadn’t played Doctor since John had been gone, but John had been so excited for Tony to have this, Rose knew she couldn’t keep it from him.

Moving forward, Tony wrapped his arms tightly around Rose’s midsection, hugging her tightly, and instinctively, Rose hugged him back, feeling the tightness in her throat increase. She knew she couldn’t keep hold of the gift forever, because he’d made it for Tony. Tony deserved something to remember John by, and she wouldn’t keep it from him.

“Thank you Rose,” He whispered, his voice trembling, and Rose hugged him tighter in response, before she pulled back, smiling at him though her eyes were misty.

“C’mon, no waterworks, alright? It’s your birthday.” She reminded him, and Tony laughed shakily, nodding before he slipped the new sonic behind his ear, flashing her a wide smile in response. Rose could only smile broadly in turn, though she could feel a deep pang within her chest. Pushing it aside, Rose reminded herself that this wasn’t about her, it was about Tony.

Everything else could wait.

* * *

Shutting the doors of her apartment, Rose let out a slow sigh, her shoulders slumping as she kicked off her shoes and switched on the lights, illuminating the small, unbearably quiet living room she’d moved into well over a year and a half ago. Jackie and Pete had invited her to stay over for the night, but Rose had declined, choosing to take the twenty minute drive home, instead.

She knew her mother would just interrogate her if she stayed, and though the silence in her apartment was crippling, she’d rather deal with that than her mother’s pressing questions. Closing her eyes, Rose slowly leaned against the door and slid down it until she was sat on the floor, her knees to her chest and her fingers seeking out the chain around her neck where a single key rested along with a silver ring, matching the one sitting upon her own ring finger.

She gripped both objects, heaving a shuddering breath, feeling tears build up in her eyes once more, though this time, she let them fall, her lips trembling as the tears slipped slowly down her cheeks to begin with, until she was crying in earnest, loud sobs echoing in the silence of the room, and she pressed her free hand to her lips, trying to stifle the sound.

It had been a year and two months since he’d died.

“ _When I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it.”_

“ _I said: ‘Rose Tyler’”_

“ _Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?”_

“ _Does it need saying?”_

“ _And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?”_

“ _ **I love you.”**_

When The Doctor’s meta-crisis had whispered those words in her ear, Rose had reacted purely on instinct, gripping the lapels of his jacket and kissing him soundly. She hadn’t thought, she hadn’t considered her actions, and when she’d heard the grating noise of the TARDIS dematerialising, she’d pulled backed in stunned disbelief, only to watch as The Doctor, _her_ Doctor, disappeared from sight again.

She’d hated him for leaving without saying goodbye, and she’d taken her anger out on his meta-crisis. They had shared a hotel room while waiting for Pete to come pick them and Jackie up, and once the fog had cleared from her mind, she’d screamed and cried and cursed him to the high heavens. He’d taken her anger well, watching her with those old, ancient eyes tinged with sadness, and she’d broken apart.

Rose told herself she’d acted purely out of instinct when she’d kissed him on the beach, and did her best to keep her distance once they’d returned home. It hurt far too much to be near him, to be reminded of everything she’d lost. He took the moniker John Noble, deciding it fit him better than John Smith, and that suited Rose just fine. She occasionally slipped up, however, and when the words ‘Doctor’ escaped her lips on the moments they did speak, he’d just smile, the expression lighting up his entire face, and a piece of her began to melt each time.

He’d taken a job at Torchwood, flitting between job to job within the company. He was their supreme authority on everything alien, and would move from technician support to alien consultant to field work with incredible ease, and quite frequently insisted on accompanying Rose on her missions, which had irritated her to begin with, though she’d gradually warmed up to the idea. He was definitely useful to have when facing unknown alien threats, and though she wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, their hands found each other as they ran, and for a while, everything seemed to be going so well.

John had seemingly forgotten that he was human, too many years cheating death as a Time Lord, she supposed, and his reckless behaviour very nearly ended in his _actual_ death. When he’d woken up in the Torchwood infirmary, healing quickly, but disorientated, Rose had kissed him for the first time since Bad Wolf Bay, and he’d promised to be more careful from there on in, and he’d kept his word. Eventually, he moved into her apartment with her, and everything had fallen into place. It just felt so natural, so normal and so right to be with him, she had eventually given up fighting it, and though listening to his single heartbeat often threw her off-guard, it caused hope to well up inside of her.

They’d grow old together, and neither of them would need to be alone.

It was life on the slow path, but Rose was certain it could have been a good life, a happy life.

As her cries began to quiet, Rose scrubbed her palms against her cheek, wiping the remnants of her tears away. She looked down at the ring upon her finger, twisting it lightly in place, thumb brushing over the metal tenderly. It was a simple silver band with a deep blue line running across the top rim, with circular Gallifreyan etched along the silver of the metal, reading one simple word: _Forever._

Neither of them had really planned on marriage or children, as their life was still too hectic, and frankly, Rose was worried the domesticity of it all would scare him away. Rose supposed he may not have asked if they hadn’t discovered her latent telepathic abilities. While unable to fully reach out to non-telepathic minds, her mind was incredibly expansive, and John had woken her one night to tell her he’d felt her mind brush against his own when her fingers had touched his temple in her sleep. He’d been so excited, so eager to feel another presence in the emptiness of his mind that she’d agreed to try to strengthen her ability.

When she’d finally been able to consciously let her mind brush along his, Rose had felt him, felt the overwhelming love he held for her, and she had cried, her fingers pressed to his temple as they sat on their bed. He’d cried too, and he’d held her close after that, kissing her reverently as they fell into one another completely.

John had explained the concept of a telepathic bond between married couples on Gallifrey shortly after that, confessing that though he could feel Time Lords in his mind when they’d still existed, the bond between a married couple was special, _intimate_. As marriages on Gallifrey were often based on political and social merits, rather than relationships, marriage bonds were incredibly rare. He hadn’t even dared to hope for something like that with Rose until discovering her telepathic abilities, and knowing he’d want to share something so intimate and everlasting with her had left her utterly breathless.

They were married based on the customs of Gallifrey, with Jackie and Pete both offering their consent to the match, and when he’d leaned close to whisper his name in her ear, a word meant for her and her alone, she couldn’t recall feeling happier. The joining of their minds was incredible, and Rose could still remember it all so clearly, the way their minds, their souls had intertwined, caught with one another, and she could see _everything_ so vividly, his love, his loss, his sorrow and fear, she knew it all, and she loved him for it.

He’d bought the rings at Jackie’s insistence, really, but had engraved them himself, admitting that since she’d given him a Gallifreyan wedding, he could give her this Earthly custom. It didn’t matter to her, but she loved her ring, and she loved him. He got along well with her little brother, in fact, they were inseparable, and the hole left behind by The Doctor had healed.

For a while, everything seemed perfect.

Eventually, Rose began to notice that John was growing more and more tired, and his appetite began to decrease. He waved it off to bad habits, but when she was called into the lab he often worked in and found him on the floor, the descent into her own personal hell had begun. He never left Torchwood infirmary, growing weaker and weaker as each day went on. She’d demanded answers from the doctors, but it was John himself who figured out the problem.

His cells were rebelling against him, fighting against his being and rejecting him completely. He was being purged by his own body, and it was burning him up from the inside out. The very process that had created him was killing him, his body was unsustainable.

Rose could remember his death with vivid intensity, and she shuddered at the memory, her fingers moving to grip at her head, thumbs lightly massaging her temples. Their bond had been stretched to its limit in his final days, but she had willed him to live, to get better and to come back to her. She’d never lost her hope, not really.

On his final day, he’d opened his eyes to smile at her for the first time in weeks, and just as she’d dared to hope for improvement, he’d whispered her name before his eyes had closed. Rose had felt the bond between their minds snap, and the sheer agony had brought her to her knees as she’d screamed til her throat was raw, knowing he was gone and begging him to come back to her, that he’d made a promise. It had been useless.

He’d lived for a year and six months.

She’d had a pyre built for him, and had cremated his body whilst being surrounded by the people who loved him, and the emptiness in her mind had threatened to tear her apart. She knew it was barely a fraction of the loss he’d felt, but she didn’t know how he’d coped. It was so lonely, and it felt as though a part of her had been violently torn away. She’d demanded to see the dimension cannon, wanting to get back to The Doctor, to shout and scream at him in her grief, to feel something other than this awful emptiness inside, but her hopes were in vain. The walls to the universes were completely closed off, and Rose supposed she had known that all along.

She’d bottled up her feelings, refused to speak about him whenever possible and threw herself into her work, dreading coming home to an empty apartment and an even emptier mind.

Stretching out her legs slowly, Rose dragged her fingers through her hair and forced herself to her feet. More often than not, she’d found she would need to work herself through the motions through convincing herself to carry on. She’d eaten at Tony’s party, so there was no real need for her to eat dinner, and she chose to head straight to her room, switching the living room light off as she moved. She changed into one of John’s old shirts and a comfortable pair of shorts once in her bedroom, feeling as though she were moving on auto-pilot. She often felt like this after thinking too hard about John, hence why she avoided talking about him as much as she could. Pulling off her necklace, Rose set it on her bedside table, and climbed into bed. Curling into a ball, she closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. She was sure she’d have a big day at work tomorrow, and to keep running she needed to be well-rested.

As she eventually began to drift off into sleep, Rose’s final thoughts were of John, a blue box in another world, and of a Time Lord she loved.


	2. Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't be posting a lot of chapters on this all at once, I like to be a little ahead of myself if I can! I'm mid-way through the runaway bride right now. I just finished writing chapter 11, which means you guys get chapter 2 on here right away! I almost forgot how much fun I had writing this!

Rose Marion Tyler was having a very bad day.

After managing to sleep through her alarm, she’d burnt her tongue on her morning brew as she’d rushed out of her apartment to try to get to work with only five minutes to spare. When she’d made it to Torchwood, (ten minutes late, mind you) she’d been bombarded with paperwork from various sectors of the company, words from her co-workers going in one ear and out of the other for the most part.

When she’d finally sat at her desk, dumping the pile of papers she’d accumulated in her short walk from the front door of the building to her office, she could feel a burning headache beginning to form. Pressing her fingers to her temples, she sucked in a deep breath, rubbing her fingertips in slow circles to try to ease the pain.

Pulling open one of her desk drawers, Rose was quick to pull out a small box of paracetamol, popping two of them out the strip and tossed them into her mouth, swallowing them down with her now much cooler tea. Now she’d be able to fully concentrate on work, letting herself be lost in the mountain of paperwork at her disposal. It was the same old song and dance, but she couldn’t say she minded too much. It was a very welcome distraction.

Pulling a small pile of papers towards her, Rose let her eyes roam the words, picking up her pen as she scanned the proposal, trying to focus on what she was reading as best she could. Unfortunately, she found herself unable to fully concentrate, and she let out a slow breath through her nose, knowing this was because of how she’d fallen apart the night before. Whenever she thought too much of John, she definitely didn’t work too well.

Dragging her hand down her face, Rose leaned back in her chair, linking her fingers together lightly. Her gaze focused on the window opposite her desk and at a Zeppelin in the distance, a small, faint smile brimming at the corner of her lips. She’d ridden one of them once with John by her side. It was a Tyler hosted event, and John had been pretty excited about the whole thing. It wasn’t his first time in a Zeppelin, of course, he’d informed her cheerfully, but it was his first time in this body.

_New new_ experiences always seemed to get him quite exuberant, and Rose could never fault him for that. She loved his almost childish eagerness, and it had made every single day with him an adventure. The world just seemed so grey in comparison lately, and Rose guessed that was where much of her problem rested.

It was difficult for her to find joy in much of anything, and it hurt, knowing there was an emptiness within her that could never be filled. She could move on one day, maybe get married again and have children, but nothing would fill the void inside of her heart and mind, and that was hard to come to terms with, even after a full year without him.

“Zoning out again, Cap?”

The sound of her second-in-command’s voice drew Rose out of her musing, and she turned to look at him from where he stood in the doorway, blinking owlishly. Geez, she hadn’t even heard him walk in…

“You know me, Dean,” Rose offered after a moment of consideration, shooting the man a fond, if not somewhat tired smile. His grin softened, recognising the look on her face, and Rose bit back a curse. Her team had walked on eggshells around her for months after John’s death, and when she’d looked in the mirror, all she had ever seen was a woman broken. She couldn’t let her team think she was sinking back into that old, familiar rut. “What d’you need?”

“There’s somethin’ you need to check out,” Dean admitted, dragging his fingers lightly through his hair as he watched her, smiling wryly. “Seems like we’ve got some new friends beaming down to Earth and causing a fuss.”

The news, though it meant nothing good in the short term, prompted a more genuine smile to appear on Rose’s lips, and she stood, paperwork all but forgotten for the time being. This was what she’d need to get John out of her mind – a healthy dose of running and some adrenaline thrumming through her veins.

“Right then, you can tell me all about it while we go and suit up.”

* * *

Rubbing the back of her hand across her mouth to wipe away some of the blood that had trickled from the corner of her lips, Rose wondered how everything had gone so wrong so quickly. After they’d been called out onto the field, it seemed like it could be a simple enough mission. Rose had recognised the type of alien they’d been dealing with, one she’d encountered in another life with The Doctor, and a race John had spoken of once before.

They weren’t supposed to be violent, not from what Rose knew of them, but just as many things in this world were different, she’d come to find out that many aliens here were just as strange to her as they’d been when she’d seen their parallel counterparts for the first time. It wasn’t always that way, but this was one of those times, and Rose cursed her stupidity.

If she’d been more focused, she would have seen the signs that pointed to something not being quite right. These Terrapod’s were armed, which had been incredibly unusual, but despite that, Rose had approached to seek counsel with the leader of the aliens. She’d been granted her wish, but had yet to turn on her translator when she heard his voice as plain as day.

“ _Brave or Stupid this Wolf must be to challenge us so confidently.”_ The leader announced, wizened old eyes observing Rose with a condescending sneer on his lips that regularly would have infuriated her, but today, she’d simply stared, stunned into surprise both at his words and the fact that she could understand him without using her translator. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had much time to muse on the cause, as the Terrapod leader had quickly declared war on humanity, seeking to revert the Earth back to its original form, a lush green paradise for the Terrapod race to conquer and expand.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Rose muttered, peering around the corner as the aliens advanced, squinting at their advanced technology in disbelief. Terrapod’s lived on the land, choosing to use it to their advantage. They didn’t like or approve of weaponry, and if their aim was to turn the world back to its original state then they still clearly valued natural life.

“They’re aliens, Rose, they don’t always need to.” Jake pointed out from his position beside her, and she shot him a sideways glance, pursing her lips. Though Mickey had long since left this universe, Jake still stuck around Torchwood, and they’d become good friends over time. There were few people in Torchwood she trusted whole-heartedly, and Jake was one of them.

“No, but can’t you feel it? Where did they get those weapons from? There’s gotta be something here that we’re missin’, I’m telling you.” Rose insisted, before she gestured for their team to move out. He lifted his brows slightly in response, but nodded, accepting that she might have a point.

“Can’t think too much on it now, we just gotta knock out this lot while everyone else gets evacuated,” He pointed out, and Rose simply grimaced in response before she ran out of her hiding spot, lifting her gun with trained ease as she fired, taking down two of the Terrapod’s with incredible precision. Two years later, and holding a gun in her hands was still an incredibly foreign feeling, but one she’d needed to adjust to.

She was a strong believer in solving problems without using violence, something drummed into her from her travels with The Doctor, but being left behind meant she didn’t often have a choice. She needed to defend herself and her family, and though she never used weapons which could enforce lethal injuries (often choosing to stun unless there was truly no other options) they always felt so wrong in her hands.

John had hated that she’d carried a gun on missions, but Rose had always made a point to not use it when she was with him. John could always find another way around a situation, but with him gone, everything just seemed so much harder. She wasn’t him, she wasn’t The Doctor. She tried her best to do as he would do, but even she needed to accept when she had no other choice.

Muttering quietly under her breath, Rose wondered why her thoughts had roamed to John and The Doctor once more – she couldn’t afford to think of them, not right now.

“Rose!”

The sound of a familiar excited voice soon caught her attention, and Rose turned with wide eyes towards the sound, lowering her gun on instinct. Tony was sprinting towards her, sonic screwdriver in hand and a determined glint in his eyes. Jackie wasn’t far behind, rushing after her son with clear panic on her face. Spinning, Rose lifted her gun to fire it at an incoming Terrapod, watching with grim satisfaction as the stunned alien hit the ground, incapacitated. She turned once more the closer that Tony got, finally finding her voice.

“Tony! Go back to mum RIGHT NOW!” She stalked over towards him, anger evident in every inch of her expression. She could understand his desire to help, knew he only wanted to make a difference, but he was _seven_. She wouldn’t risk her little brother’s life because he wanted to play ‘Doctor’. This wasn’t a game, and Tony could sense her anger, slowing his run as he neared her, confused.

“What? Rose, I just wanna help…” He mumbled, suddenly disheartened, before he gestured to the sonic in his hand. “I’ve got this, and I thought John would want me to-”

“A toy sonic screwdriver won’t turn you into The Doctor, Tony!” Rose interrupted, her hand clenching into a tight fist, fixing her little brother with her best glare, regretting the words the instant they left her mouth. Tony’s face fell, his shoulders slumping, and he pressed his lips together, taking a slow step back.

Guilt hit Rose in an instant, and she’d never hated herself more, seeing the look on his young face, optimistic enthusiasm crushed with one cruel sentence. Exhaling, Rose dragged her fingers through her hair, trying not to dwell on the hurt she’d obviously caused him. He needed to be safe, not rushing around and risking his life with dangerous aliens on the loose. If she had to hurt his feelings to keep him safe, so be it.

“Go back to mum,” She repeated, able to hear Jackie frantically shouting Tony’s name the closer she got. “Get out of here and go home. We’ll talk later, alright?”

Tony nodded quietly in response, turning away from Rose in order to rush back towards Jackie, and she sighed, keeping her gaze fixed on him and her mother, seeing the clear relief on Jackie’s face as Tony made his way back towards her. Slippery little eel, he was. Turning to head back into the fray, Rose paused when movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention.

From a nearby alleyway, one of the Terrapod’s emerged, sneer clear on its twisted features. It raised its gun and Rose realised with a jolt of horror that it wasn’t pointed at her, but at-

“ **TONY**!”

The sight of her brother, so close to a hostile alien threat, had thrown all sense of logic and rationality out of Rose’s mind. She found herself running forward towards him as fast as her feet would carry her, able to hear her mother’s screams echoing in her ears as the threat became evident to her, too. Reaching out, Rose gripped Tony’s shoulders, shoving him with all of her strength. He flew to the side, tripping and stumbling with a cry of pain as he hit the concrete, but looked up with wide, terrified eyes as he came to a stop.

With the alien’s weapon pointed at her now, instead of Tony, Rose didn’t even have time to defend herself. It fired, and as the beam of light struck her in the chest, she found herself letting out a choked sound, tasting the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. Her legs trembled and gave way, and she hit the ground on her knees, pain blooming outwards from her chest.

Looking down slowly, Rose could only stare as a pool of red began to spread through her shirt and jacket, and slowly, she pressed her hand to her chest, feeling the dip where the ray had shot straight through her, and her hand came away sticky with blood.

The world around her began to spin, and Rose fell to the side, her head slamming hard onto the road below. Faintly, she could hear Tony and her mother screaming her name, and the sound of running footsteps, but it faded away, and everything turned black.

* * *

“ _Rose? Rose, Sweetheart, hold on! Don’t you dare leave me!”_

“ _I’m so sorry Rose! I love you, please wake up… I didn’t want you to get hurt…”_

“ _GET HER BACK TO TORCHWOOD, NOW!”_

“ _You hang on, Rose, you’re stronger than this, you’re not going anywhere!”_

“ _She’s losing too much blood!”_

“ _NO! NO ROSE! GET OFF OF ME, THAT’S MY DAUGHTER! ROSE!”_

“ _We’re losing her!”_

“ _ **ROSE!**_ _”_

The sound of her little brother’s voice desperately screaming her name forced Rose’s eyes to open, and she inhaled sharply, her fingers curling into fists. Her chest heaved for a moment as she sucked in deep, desperate breaths. Slowly, Rose lifted a hand, pressing it to her chest, feeling for the wound she’d been granted by the alien, but she couldn’t feel anything.

There was no pain either, and Rose frowned in confusion before slowly moving to sit up, noting she could do it with ease. Looking down at herself, she blinked, realising she was wearing a plain white tank top and white shorts, though her feet were bare. On top of that, she had been lying in a bed of flowers rather than the white sterilised Torchwood infirmary bed she’d been expecting. Orchids, Marigolds, Tulips and various other flowers surrounded her body, and Rose took the time to observe her surroundings.

It seemed like she had woken in a vast _field_ of flowers, stretching outwards as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful, but she didn’t understand HOW she’d gotten here. Reaching out a hand, Rose plucked a pink carnation from the ground, twirling the stem between her fingers, before she jumped, staring at her hand with wide eyes. Her ring was gone. The carnation fell from her fingers, floating down to the grass as Rose’s hand shot to her neck, feeling for the necklace holding both her TARDIS key and John’s ring, but it wasn’t there. Panic began to well up inside of her, and she turned her body to desperately search for her lost treasures in the sea of flowers.

_Do not fret my wolf._

A song entered her mind, a soft hum of love and reassurance that was so familiar somehow, it immediately put her at ease. Golden tendrils began to rise from the flowerbed around her, curling around her limbs and brushing her cheek in an almost loving touch, much like the way a mother would stroke her child’s cheek.

_I am here._

Closing her eyes, Rose could feel serenity wash over her entire body as the song eased the emptiness within her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. Reaching out her hand to one of the lingering tendrils, she allowed her fingertips to graze the golden energy, and a sense of overwhelming kinship left her breathless as she realised just what this was.

“You’re the TARDIS,” Rose murmured, and the energy swirled around her body in response, her warmth “I don’t understand, how _can_ you be here? Where _am_ I?”

_You are safe within your mind, my wolf. A great choice lies before you, as your body begins to wither, there is still a part of me within you, keeping you safe, keeping your very essence from fading to dust._

“I’m dying?” Rose asked quietly, her throat tightening at the clear implications in the TARDIS’ words. In saving her brother, she’d sacrificed herself, and she hated that he’d been witness to her death, to the shot that that drained the life from her body. Rose had wanted to protect him, not scar him for life. “So that Terrapod got me pretty good, huh? Is my brother safe? What about my mum?”

The thought that her impulsive act of sacrifice had potentially left her family without someone to defend them in the face of invading alien threats filled her with terror, but the TARDIS sent soft, soothing energy flowing through her body, and Rose sighed, closing her eyes once more.

_They are safe and stay loyally by your side, and will stay_ _un_ _til the end._

They were safe. That was enough to inspire relief in Rose, but then her thoughts turned to Tony, to the way she’d shouted at him, that some of her final words to her little brother had been to tear down his dream of being like his hero, of being like The Doctor. Her breath caught in her throat, and tears began to slip silently down her cheeks.

“They’re better off without me,” She whispered, pulling her knees in towards her chest. “Especially Tony, I shouldn’t have yelled at him.” The look on his face was haunting her now, and that he might remember her as angry and bitter sent waves of hurt flooding through her entire body.

_Antony Tyler will remember his sister as brave and heroic, my precious wolf. He will remember her sacrifice and strength for the remainder of his life, and will do many wonderful things in your name. I see it, have seen it, stretching past your timeline even as it ends, your death is not the end of your name. Do not fret, he loves you, and he will love you_ _un_ _til his final day._

The TARDIS was gentle as she spoke, her tendrils continuing to try to soothe Rose from her grief, gliding lovingly over her skin, sending soft jolts of affection through the bond they shared, which prompted Rose to smile weakly, her aching heart easing at this news. She let out a shaky sigh, grateful, and once the TARDIS was sure she felt better, she spoke once more.

_Two choices lie before you._

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Two choices? How could she still have choices? She was dead, trapped within her own mind. “What are they?”

_I can release your mind, allowing it to fade with your body, freeing you from all sorrow and pain. I can set you free._

One of the tendrils brushed by her cheek once more, and Rose was flooded with a sense of love and affection. The warmth of the emotions filled her with joy, and she leaned into the touch of the energy, seeking more familiarity. The TARDIS was offering her a chance to be free from the emptiness John had left behind, to be free from the loss and the pain she’d felt for so long. It was her chance to be reunited with John, and it was tempting, _oh_ so tempting. “That makes sense. What’s my other option?”

_Your body in this world is fated to die, but the bond between us allows me to pull your essence, your soul and mind through the void and through time. I will restore you to your body, before the day you were separated from my thief._

Rose inhaled sharply as the words struck home, and she stared at the light around her in shock, unable to believe what she was hearing. “You mean, rewrite my own timeline? Isn’t… Isn’t that a paradox?” The memory of the reapers was vividly fresh in her mind, and Rose shivered at the thought of seeing them again. She’d learned her lesson long ago.

_No, it is only paradoxical if I were to bring your body through the void, and you prevented your past self from being trapped within the other dimension. With your mind and essence in the body of your past life, you could change time with ease, creating simply an alternate timeline to the one you are currently living. Time is ever fluid, constantly changing and twisting, and there are many branching paths. The timeline you have now will simply become one that could have been._

“So everythin’ would’ve still happened in this universe, but stemmin’ from another alternate timeline?” Rose guessed, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, and she heard a soft hum of confirmation in her mind. It was risky, she knew that, but if the TARDIS was allowing it, she doubted she could do any real damage, and this was her chance to live another life with The Doctor. It was a chance to live a life where they’d never been separated.

Her heart jumped at the possibility, and excitement began to bloom, only to still as another thought struck her, and her heart slowly began to sink.

“Tony,” She said aloud, her voice soft. “Tony will grow up not knowing me if I stay with The Doctor, won’t he?” The TARDIS offered an apologetic hum in her mind, and Rose closed her eyes tightly, pressing her palms to her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. Would Tony even be the same person without her stories? Without _John’s_ stories? Would he still yearn to be an astronaut and to touch the stars? She hoped so.

On top of her internal dilemma regarding Tony, she realised, with a start, that if she could re-do everything, then John might not _exist_. There was already so much she could change, but the more she thought on it, the better the options seemed, though it hurt to admit. Tony had only run out and nearly been hurt by the aliens because he’d seen _her_. He’d never have to suffer seeing the death of his big sister, he’d never be in direct danger, and John? Well, John would only live a year and a half regardless.

Would she remember her life here? Would she even REMEMBER John? Or Tony? The friends she’d made? Nervously, Rose bit at her thumbnail, though the TARDIS was quick to try to reassure her.

_You will retain your memories with the transfer, I assure you of this, my wolf. Though they exist within a fading timeline, they will live on within your mind, burning a brightly as you, yourself._

The TARDIS’ words were gentle and calm in their honesty, and Rose let out a soft sigh, her eyes slowly closing. There was truly no doubt in her mind of the option she would choose, but she only hoped she’d be able to make a difference, rather than repeating the same mistakes and ending up right where she’d started.

“I choose to be with The Doctor, _My_ Doctor.” Rose decided, opening her eyes, a large, genuine smile appearing on her lips. Long ago, a madman in a blue box had taken her hand, and with a single word, he’d sucked her into his crazy life, leaving her breathless in its intensity. She’d promised him forever and had been trapped in another universe, though she’d done everything in her power to fight her way back to him once more. Rose Tyler had made her choice long ago, and she would always choose The Doctor.

The light around her body seemed to brighten in intensity, and Rose could feel an outward joy blossoming inside of her mind that she knew didn’t belong to her. The TARDIS was certainly pleased with her choice, and Rose’s smile turned into a grin.

_Sleep now, my wolf, and ready yourself. There will be much danger ahead, but my thief will need you by his side._

Lying down on the bed of flowers, Rose felt the TARDIS’ presence brushing along her mind once more, trying to initiate sleep, and her eyes began to drift closed of their own accord as, unbeknownst to her, her body began to glow gold.

In a sterile white room within Torchwood Headquarters, Rose Tyler took her final breath, and as her mind was swept beyond time and space, one single thought lingered.

‘ _I’m comin’ Doctor, I’ll be with you soon._ ’


	3. Home Sweet Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the attention to this story! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I'm getting close to finishing the runaway bride now, and i'm having fun re-watching all the episodes! Hope you all enjoy this next chapter too!

As she started to come to, Rose was vividly aware of a furious pounding in her head, which drew her to groan, lifting up her pillow in order to press it over her face, trying to block out any and all light that would aggravate the headache further. She couldn’t quite remember, but Rose was sure she had some fast acting paracetamol for migraines lying in one of her vanity drawers somewhere, but that would mean moving the pillow, and honestly, she just didn’t feel ready.

God, what a dream she’d had.

It hurt, knowing that even after all of this time, she still dreamed of the TARDIS, though, admittedly, this time, she’d also dreamed of dying and somehow being magically pulled into her original dimension. It was laughable, and if the reality of being stuck back in Pete’s world without John OR The Doctor wasn’t enough to make her want to cry, perhaps she WOULD have laughed.

In the back of her mind, Rose heard a soft hum, a gentle prodding at the light mental barriers in her mind that John and Torchwood had helped her build. Normally, a touch to her mind would cause alarm bells to ring, but this… it felt familiar, warm and gentle.

It felt like… home.

The ache in her head began to fade by the second from the gentle touch of another mind brushing against her own, the crushing emptiness she’d felt for over a year somewhat softened, and Rose became aware of just HOW familiar it was. Her breath caught in sudden realisation, and she sat up abruptly, throwing the pillow across the room as darkness turned to light. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but it became abundantly clear that THIS wasn’t her room back in her parents’ mansion. It was her room in the TARDIS.

“It _wasn’t_ a dream,” Rose’s voice was a whisper, and she stared at the familiar surroundings, her fingers tightening on her duvet cover. It looked the way it had the day she’d been taken to Pete’s world, as far as she could remember. The walls were a soft faded pink, her vanity sitting in one of the corners and piled high with make-up and various alien knick-knacks from her travels with The Doctor. Various photographs were hung on the walls, and old clothes that she’d yet to pack away to take to her mum still littered the floor.

She’d never let her room in the other dimension get like this, but then, Rose supposed she’d grown up since then. Still, the sight of it all sent waves of nostalgia rushing through her body, and tears welled up in her eyes, quickly slipping down her cheek as a tired mixture of laughter and sobs broke past her lips. She could still feel the TARDIS’ presence in the back of her mind, soothing and gentle, and her crying only grew as she buried her face into her hands.

“Thank you, _thank you so much_!”

Rose Tyler was tough. She’d fought Daleks and Cybermen, told the Devil to go to Hell, and had kicked through the walls of the universe to get back to The Doctor, yet had ended stuck there once more. She’d lost him twice, and lost John once, and the ache of those memories still rested heavily on her heart. Grief wasn’t so easily discarded, and she knew it, but knowing she had yet ANOTHER chance to be with The Doctor, well…

Maybe the Universe was really helping her out for once.

Pushing herself out of bed, Rose rushed to the mirror in order to get a better look at her reflection. Younger, she looked _younger_. Her hair was longer than it had been, and blonde, which she noted in some amusement. She hadn’t dyed it since John had passed away, and had been brunette ever since she’d gotten the last of the colour cut out. Her roots were showing through now, though, and Rose hummed quietly, taking a moment to observe her eyes. They were the same, more or less, they were still tired, holding old grief and loss within them, and Rose smiled bitterly.

Jackie Tyler had always claimed eyes were the windows to the soul, and Rose supposed she was right enough. Though The Doctor had looked young, his eyes told just how old he was, and even John’s eyes had spoken volumes about him. Rose’s eyes told their own tale, and she huffed a soft sigh, anticipation beginning to brew within her gut. She couldn’t worry about her eyes right now; it was time to see The Doctor.

* * *

Stepping out of her room, Rose let out a soft, nervous sigh, smoothing down the outfit she’d chosen for herself. None of the clothes in her wardrobe really suited her tastes any more, and she’d gone through pretty much everything she owned. She’d been nineteen and twenty when she’d worn these old things, but she was much older mentally now, and her tastes had changed. She’d asked the TARDIS for some new clothes, and as usual, the old girl didn’t disappoint.

Clad in much more simple attire than she would have been when she was twenty, Rose hummed thoughtfully, adjusting the TARDIS blue leather jacket with a faint grin. She’d had one of a very similar colour back in the other world, and it was one of her favourites. Wearing it now just felt right. She’d complimented the jacket with a long silver shirt the TARDIS picked out which seemed to shimmer faintly when the light changed, and a pair of plain black sailor cut pants. Of course, to finish everything off she’d been gifted with her own pair of TARDIS blue converse, and she’d wanted to laugh at her cheek.

They WERE incredibly comfortable, much more than converse from her own time had been, so she supposed these were a different make from a different time. Knowing The Doctor, it would make sense, and she smiled, reaching for the ring around her neck, only to pause when she felt the constant warmth of her TARDIS key instead, and her smile instantly began to fade.

It felt odd, not carrying John’s wedding ring around her neck with her key, and she breathed a sigh, clutching at said key for reassurance. John didn’t exist in this timeline, not yet, and if she stayed here after Canary Wharf, there was a chance he wouldn’t exist at all. In the back of her mind, the TARDIS hummed apologetically, and Rose shook her head, touching one of the coral struts with a faint smile

“It’s okay. I got a year and a half with him, and it was brilliant, but… I couldn’t do it again, not when I know he wouldn’t live longer than that, I just couldn’t.” She closed her eyes, heaving a sigh, before she straightened her shoulders and began to walk down the hallway, pushing the thought of John out of her mind for the time being. She’d grieved him for over a year, and though she’d never forget him and all they’d done, she needed to focus on the situation at hand.

Following the familiar curve of the hallway, Rose felt the same anxious anticipation tightening in her gut, only for her to pause when she ended up in the galley, instead of the console room. Turning, her frown only grew when she saw the door had vanished, and she shot an annoyed look at the ceiling.

“Really? I can eat later, you know!” Rose insisted, but knowing the TARDIS wouldn’t change her mind, dutifully made her way to the kettle, switching it on whilst pulling a bowl from a nearby cupboard, observing the kitchen with more fond nostalgia warming within her. It was surprising, how she knew where everything would still be, even after so many years, but she supposed it was like coming home after a long trip. You never really forgot your home.

Pouring herself a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal, Rose sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat. The silence in the room was far too familiar, and she found herself anxiously bouncing her leg as she ate, wanting to get it over with so she could see The Doctor again. The TARDIS made a noise of fond exasperation in her mind, and Rose couldn’t help but smile faintly, swallowing a hot mouthful of tea before speaking aloud.

“I think I’m allowed to be _impatient,_ old girl, it’s been two years since I’ve seen him.” Silence followed her words, until finally, the TARDIS hummed in acceptance and Rose smiled, though she continued to eat her cereal, only just realising how hungry she really was. It took only a few minutes for her to clear her bowl, and though it burned the roof of her mouth, she quickly drained her mug of tea, standing up the moment she’d finished. She ignored the repeated exasperated sound coming from the ship, choosing to set her bowl and mug into the sink to be cleaned up later.

“I’m done – will you let me see ‘im now?” She asked, resting a hand on one of the coral struts, and much to her delight, the door reappeared. Excitement simmered within her stomach, and she let out a soft breath, clenching her fists before she began to walk down the hallway leading to the control room. Terror and excitement stormed around within her, and she rested her hand upon the doorway as she entered, her breath catching as she caught sight of his back, twisting and fiddling with some levers.

The Doctor, for his part, could sense when Rose entered the control room, able to hear her footsteps over the grating as she’d approached, and he smiled to himself, glad for her returned company.

“Ah, good morning Rose!” His voice was as cheerful as it’d always been as he turned to face her, practically beaming. He paused, taking in both her outfit and the expression on her face, which caused him to falter, smile fading into concern. She was staring at him with tears in her eyes, her hands clenched into tight fists and her chest heaving, like she was struggling to hold herself together. “Rose? What is it?”

There he was, all pinstriped and messy haired, and Rose was struggling to keep herself calm. For a moment, all she could see was John, and it stung, but that feeling passed, and it quickly dawned on her that this was her Doctor. Her wonderful, _brilliant_ Doctor, and she could feel the tears slipping down her cheeks, though she made no effort to wipe them away. She wanted to laugh in joy and scream and hit him with her fists because he _left_ her! He left her with a copy of himself who fizzled out in a year and a half and left her alone and lost, but she couldn’t.

“Doctor,” she managed to choke out, and before she could stop herself, she was running towards him, blue converse hitting the grating as she jumped the last steps leading to the console and threw her arms around him. She buried her face into his suit as her emotions got the better of her, and she allowed herself to cry both in relief and because she felt completely overwhelmed. She wanted to tell him everything, but how could she? He’d never left her in this timeline, not yet, at least. Her fingers clutched the back of his suit jacket, and her legs almost gave way as she cried out all the relief and grief she’d been holding up, breathing in his scent, so different from John’s that there was no mistaking the two of them for one another. This truly was The Doctor, and oh, she’d missed him.

The Doctor’s arms wrapped around Rose in turn, and though he had no clue as to why she was sobbing into his chest, his hearts still ached at the gut wrenching sound, and he swallowed thickly, moving one of his hands to gently cup the back of her head, worry washing over him in an instant. He let her cry for a moment, knowing she needed to get this out of her system, whatever it was.

‘ _Do you know what’s going on_?’ he asked the TARDIS telepathically, frowning slightly, and she merely gave him a sad hum in response, confirming she did without giving him any help into figuring out the reason. He hated this, he hated seeing her so broken up inside and not knowing the cause of it.

Her cries turned into soft sniffles after a moment, and she loosened her grip on his jacket, pulling back from him to stare into his face, her eyes still shining, tear tracks running down her cheeks. He swallowed thickly, thumb ghosting over her skin, and she seemed to shudder out a sigh at his touch, leaning into the contact as her eyes closed.

“What’s wrong, Rose?” He murmured softly, and her lips tightened in response, turning her head so they grazed lightly against the palm of his cupped hand, and his worry only seemed to grow at her reluctance to tell him the truth. She’d never felt the need to hide things from him before, so why was she starting now? “Please, Rose, if something’s wrong, I want to help.”

“S’nothin’, Doctor, I just had a really bad dream.” Rose mumbled in response, her hand covering his own, and though he wanted to believe that was the case, he just couldn’t. The TARDIS would often let him know when Rose’s nightmares were bad enough to warrant comfort, and he would comfort her as she slept, but he hadn’t heard anything.

Something was bothering Rose, but she wasn’t telling him what it was. He furrowed his eyebrows, watching her carefully, but other than the crying bout, she seemed fine. She was smiling, quite genuinely from what he could tell, and her shoulders were completely relaxed. If something had been truly bothering her, she’d be visibly more distressed.

“You’re sure?” He asked softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, to which she sighed quite happily, opening her eyes once more, and The Doctor couldn’t mistake the sheer joy within them. She was definitely happy now, and though he still felt utterly perplexed, he smiled back at her, trying to discard the worries from his mind.

“Positive.”

Rose, for her part, felt lighter than air. When she’d broken down and cried in The Doctor’s arms, she’d felt the TARDIS in her mind, her soft hums both comforting and warning, which she understood to mean she couldn’t tell The Doctor the truth. Not yet. She could deal with that, and she’d face the truth when it came down to it.

Pulling back somewhat reluctantly from his touch, Rose wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks, glad for the waterproof mascara she’d picked out, and moved over to the console, running her fingers along the familiar tech with a broad smile. Rose Tyler and The Doctor, on the TARDIS as it should be. Despite everything she’d been through, despite all of the loss and grief and pain, she felt like a kid on Christmas Eve, an excitement welling within her that she couldn’t contain. Another chance to set things right, to live the life she’d missed so much.

A chance to be with The Doctor forever.

“So, where are we goin’ today?” Rose looked back at him with her tongue in teeth smile, and though he’d been watching her carefully, trying to judge her mood, his hearts warmed at the sight of such a genuine expression on her face, and his manic energy soon retuned, as he rushed to the other side of the console, flipping levers as he went, causing the ship to shake, and drawing a giggle out of the human girl.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already, Rose Tyler!” He flipped another switch, shooting her a small, playful grin. “You told ME you wanted to go shopping, so we’re going to an asteroid orbiting the moons of Winyradia, home to one of the best bazaars of the 40th Century.” Rose started slightly at that, recalling this trip the first time around. The TARDIS wouldn’t immediately be throwing her into the thick of things, then. She had time to figure out how to stay with The Doctor during Canary Wharf. “Nice jacket by the way,” The Doctor added, and Rose grinned in response, lifting her eyebrows slightly.

“Thanks, the TARDIS picked it out.” She fiddled with the hem lightly, and The Doctor’s grin grew even wider.

“Well, she does have good taste!” He noted, before he flipped another switch, sending the ship into flight. “Hold on!”

Laughing at the old familiar jostle, Rose gripped onto the edge of the console, grinning broadly as the TARDIS hummed happily in her mind. She eventually came to a stop, and Rose didn’t hesitate, rushing immediately to the doors, The Doctor not far behind her. Pulling them open, Rose smiled broadly at the familiar sight from so long ago.

“Here we are! Winyr bazaar, in the year 3963!” The Doctor gestured grandly with a hand, and Rose laughed breathlessly. It was just a busy and bustling as she could remember, hundreds of stalls as far as the eye could see, aliens bustling around, shopping and selling, some of them shouting out for deals and bargains, bright colours assaulting her eyes, and she inhaled, the scent of unique spices wafting over her.

“I love it!” She declared, looking back at him with a broad grin, which he returned enthusiastically, reaching out to take her hand, and though Rose knew it was just natural for them to initiate contact in this timeline, her heart skipped a beat. “Um, right, c’mon then tightwad, you can’t expect me t’pay for everything here, can you?” She teased, and he sniffed, acting insulted.

“Rose Tyler, I believe YOU have a perfectly good credit stick I gave to you for moments like these,” He pointed out, giving her hand a light squeeze, and she smirked, finding herself falling back into their witty banter with incredible ease.

“You’ve got one too, yeah? Maybe you could start making up for all those times I bought us chips.” She teased, and The Doctor grinned in response, making a happy noise in the back of his throat that caused a tingle to shoot through her entire body. God, she’d missed this, she’d missed him so much.

“Come on, I’ll buy you the local speciality of the bazaar to make up for it later,” He promised, shutting the door to the TARDIS, and she nodded, moving forward eagerly, ensuring he was following behind her with a quick tug to his hand. They had some shopping to do, and maybe, if she was lucky, she’d find something that could help in the upcoming fight, and her stomach clenched at the thought.

It was coming, and this time, she’d be ready.

* * *

Blimey, she’d forgotten just how hot it could get here. Fanning herself with her hand absently, Rose shrugged out of her jacket, resting the leather over the crook of her arm, absently peering at the stalls around her and taking everything in. On her first trip here, she’d been utterly overwhelmed with just how much there was to see, but the familiar surroundings felt soothing to her now, and she smiled, her fingers ghosting over a scarf made of incredibly soft material.

Up ahead of her, The Doctor had found some stalls selling spices and some kind of exotic nuts and was busy taste testing, much to her amusement. His oral fixation was something he and John shared, but that was a given. They were the same person, after all, but John was – no, _had_ been human, for all intents and purposes.

Rose’s smile faded, her chest constricting at the old memory of his final moments, the light leaving those eyes, and the awful, terrible grief that followed, that she’d never be rid of. She didn’t regret her time with John, he’d taught her so much and done so much good in Pete’s world, and she’d loved him whole-heartedly, but the hurt still lingered.

Exhaling softly, Rose dragged a hand down her face, trying to will herself to snap out of it. She still had her memories of the other world, but that reality didn’t and wouldn’t exist here, and though she knew she needed to keep her head on her shoulders to figure out a way to prevent being separated from The Doctor, she couldn’t just pretend her time with John never happened.

Ugh, it was just so complicated!

Opening her eyes, Rose paused when she noticed a familiar silver trinket lying on the stall next to her, and she reached out, picking it up with the smallest of smiles pulling at her lips. Ah, she remembered this little thing. She’d bought it as a gift for her mother, but like everything else in the Tyler flat, it’d been left behind after they’d gotten stuck in Pete’s World. Knowing that Jackie would end up there again, it would seem pointless to buy her the trinket, but at the same time…

“Bazoolium,” The Doctor’s voice, so close to her ear, made her jump, and she looked at him with wide eyes, prompting him to grin in response, lightly tugging on his earlobe. “It’s made of Bazoolium, that thing. Quite good at predicting the weather, since when it’s going to be sunny it goes hot, and when it’s going to rain it goes cold. It’s a simple endothermic reaction, but Bazoolium is an incredibly sensitive metal, and its molecular structure allows it to react before the weather actually hits. Bit more reliable than your local weatherman.” He slipped his hands into his pockets, watching as Rose turned the trinket in her hands. She’d only been half listening to his explanation, more caught up in the fact she hadn’t known he was there. When she and John had bonded, they’d always known when the other was close, could simply feel it. She’d forgotten she technically wasn’t bonded to him here, and it had caused her to focus on her mind, where John had once lingered. The emptiness was still present, but it didn’t hurt the way it had once, and she felt less _broken_ , somehow. She didn’t understand what it all meant, but it was something to think on later.

“Mum could do with somethin’ like this,” She mused, shooting him a smile. “She’s always moaning about the weather and getting’ caught in the rain.”

“Might give her one less thing to moan about,” The Doctor agreed lightly, and couldn’t resist a little jab, as he added: “Mind you, can’t imagine Jackie Tyler _not_ moaning about something.”

“Oi, that’s my mother!” Elbowing him in the side, Rose shot The Doctor a look, causing him to snicker, but he held his hands up in an apology, knowing Rose wasn’t really offended. “I think I’ll get it, somethin’ to bring her back next time I lug all my washing back home.”

“I think it’s a good choice, it’s not too _alien_ so it shouldn’t overwhelm her.” The Doctor noted, and Rose smiled, looking at the stall keeper who had been watching their exchange curiously, the hint of expectation in his eyes.

“Only fifty credits for such a useful little trinket. I would say it’s worth it, yes?” He wheedled, and Rose simply held out her credit’s stick in response, prompting The Doctor to grin and move back to the spices stall, clearly not done with his sampling just yet.

Rose wasn’t sure why she’d decided to keep the bazoolium, but an idea was slowly beginning to form in her mind. She knew it was best for Jackie to live in the other universe. There, she’d never want for anything, she’d be happy with Pete, and eventually, they’d have Tony. They’d be a proper little family, and Rose wanted that for her. However, there had been things from this universe Jackie had often missed, photo albums, trinkets, just little things which carried memories. Maybe there was a way for her to take a bag of those things to the other dimension. She knew The Doctor would still try to send her away, so if she could drop the bag on the ground before she went back to her own dimension…

Well, it was an idea, at least. She didn’t want to carry around a huge bag full of things whilst running from Cybermen and Daleks, and it would definitely draw questions. Maybe the TARDIS could help her out. Musing on her options, Rose took back the credit stick once it was offered, smiling gratefully at the vendor before she moved on to join The Doctor at the spice stall, his bright smile as he spotted her lifting her spirits considerably.

She could work out the details later. For now, she just wanted to enjoy this time with The Doctor. It was the lightest she’d felt in well over a year, and she’d enjoy the peaceful serenity for however long she could.


	4. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be part one of Doomsday! The episodes will be split into two parts, usually, just so it's not a huge block of text to get through chapter! The runaway bride is definitely longer than that, but it's a special, and not a regular length episode. I'm trying to whittle it down so it's not TOO long, but we'll see how it goes! 
> 
> Thanks for all of the support, reviews and kudos so far! You guys are so sweet!

“I don’t care what you say, Doctor, those _weren’t_ chips,” Rose’s voice was lightly argumentative as they made their way back through the still bustling alien marketplace, her fingers holding securely to The Doctor’s, and he simply lifted his eyebrows at her in response.

“ _Well…”_ He trailed off, clearly ready to defend the alien delicacy, but Rose let out a small snort before he could begin, lightly nudging her shoulder against his.

“Just ‘cause they were fried and made of the Klipan version of a potato doesn’t make ‘em the same,” She pointed out, and The Doctor lightly wrinkled his nose in response, though he was smiling, deciding to let it slide.

“Okay, well, the next time we’re on Earth, we’ll get some proper chips, how about that? Can’t have you without your favourite greasy snack, can we?” He paused for a moment, before adding innocently: “The Klipan chips DID taste nice, though.”

“They tasted kinda like bananas,” Rose hummed thoughtfully, before her eyes widened and she looked at The Doctor accusingly, who was openly grinning; clearly pleased with himself. “Banana flavoured chips?! Are you havin’ a laugh?! God, you find a way to slip banana’s into everything!”

“What? Rose, Bananas are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C and fibre, not to mention lots of other micro nutrients.” The Doctor pointed out indignantly, trying to defend his choice. “Actually, did you know a banana is _botanically_ a berry? Wouldn’t think it just by looking at it, doesn’t really conjure up an image of a berry when you say the word, does it? But a berry is just a fruit without a stone that comes from a plant.” He slipped his free hand into his pocket, not noticing the fond smile Rose shot his way as he babbled. “Anyway, the point is, the CHIPS weren’t banana flavoured, they just tasted like Klipan potatoes. The salt on the other hand…”

“Banana flavoured salt?” Rose asked, disbelieving, and he shot her a wide, excited grin.

“Better! Banana **INFUSED** salt! Gives us all the good stuff we get from bananas along with the excellent taste.” He confirmed, and Rose burst into laughter, leaning into his side lightly as her shoulders shook. God, that was just such a Doctor thing to do. Banana salt, honestly…

“I’m surprised you didn’t just go and buy some for yourself,” Rose laughed, and The Doctor reached into one of his inner pockets, pulling out a small yellow tub and shook it from side to side, and Rose stared silently at him for a moment. “Don’t you dare start sprinklin’ that on all of my food, Doctor.”

“Fine, I guess I’ll just save all these excellent nutritional flakes for myself,” The Doctor sniffed, and Rose grinned in response as the TARDIS came into view. This trip hadn’t gone the way she’d remembered it the last time she was here, but honestly, she was glad for it. She knew she’d have to repeat the battle of Canary Wharf soon enough, so feeling as though she were creating new memories with The Doctor was comforting.

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS doors and they headed inside, prompting the ship to offer a happy hum to welcome the two of them back. The Doctor let go of Rose’s hand to rush over to the console, whereas Rose simply smiled warmly at the ceiling before she moved to head for the corridor.

“I’m gonna go put my stuff in my room, alright?” Rose held up the bag she’d been gripping in her free hand, and The Doctor waved his hand to indicate she should head off, and she did so, pausing at the entrance to the hallway before she turned briefly. “Where are we goin’ next?” She asked, eyes shining eagerly, and he looked back at her with a smile.

“Don’t ask, it takes the mystery out of it!” He dismissed, and Rose flashed him her famous tongue in teeth smile before she disappeared, and The Doctor’s own smile slowly faded, rubbing at his eyes with a soft sigh. The trail of golden energy he’d seen lingering around Rose had been worrying him for a while, since she’d come out of her room that morning. There was a strange feeling he got around her, as though timelines were being stretched and pulled in different directions. He hadn’t noticed it right away at first, but the glow had started to appear slowly over time, growing brighter and more intense.

Nothing seemed to be at risk of fracturing the universe, not that he could initially tell, at least, but something was definitely going on. He did his best to never fully focus on the timelines of his companions, as knowing too much never led to anything good, but Rose’s stood out so vividly to him, it seemed to call him. It beckoned his intrigue because he was sure Rose knew something about it herself but wouldn’t or couldn’t tell him.

Her over-emotional greeting to him and the way she tried to stay as close to him as possible, as though she were afraid he’d disappear were big clues, but Rose seemed to brush it all aside as though it were nothing. He wanted to understand and he HATED not knowing the answer to something huge when it hung almost directly in his face.

Absently flicking a switch on the TARDIS console, The Doctor steeled himself to make a decision. He was worried about Rose and about her timelines. Why did they stand out to him? Why did they shine with golden light? What was Rose hiding from him? The questions swirled around the expanse of his mind, taunting him, goading him into doing something rash, and he sighed quietly.

Tentatively, The Doctor reached out with his mind, reaching deep to focus on Rose’s timeline, which he could distinct from the rest with ease. It continued to glow gold faintly, and still called to him, though he’d managed to ignore it until now. He reached out further, intent on searching the timeline for anything out of the ordinary, only to jerk back suddenly.

He’d been mentally pushed, quite firmly too, away from the timeline, and he could hear the TARDIS humming angrily at him. She sent a spark to the button he was touching on the console, and he pulled back his hand with a curse, shaking it out before trying to nurse the light burn she’d given him.

“What’s wrong with you?!” He snapped, running his fingers lightly over the reddened skin, only for her to hum apologetically in response, though he could still sense her anger. The TARDIS never approved when he DID dare to peer at the timelines of those around him, but she’d never rebuffed him so strongly – he didn’t even know she COULD do that. “I’m not trying to pry, I just want to make sure Rose is okay. Her timeline shouldn’t look the way it does, and I’m worried. You _like_ Rose, aren’t you worried about her?” He demanded.

The TARDIS sent a hum of agreement through his mind, along with a wave of emotion she seemed to feel in regards to Rose. His ship seemed to hold Rose in incredibly high regard, and for a moment, he was stunned into silence. He’d known the TARDIS liked Rose, she’d taken to her quite well and gave her an excellent room, whereas most of his companions got the basics - which eventually built up into more. Despite that, he’d never anticipated just HOW much the time ship would care for Rose. When had that happened?

Sighing, The Doctor sat down in the pilot’s seat, flexing his fingers as he focused once more on the unique timeline of his companion, though he made no effort to delve deeper into it. Whatever was going on with Rose, the TARDIS knew something, and the old girl was keeping him in the dark. If that WERE the case, then surely, given how much the TARDIS liked her, Rose couldn’t be in real danger?

Still, he’d like to know for sure…

“Just one peek?” He asked aloud, peering hopefully at the time rotor, and the ship shuddered in response, nearly throwing him off of his seat. Once he regained his balance (and his dignity) he sighed once more in defeat. “You’re sure she’s safe?”

The TARDIS sent waves of reassurance towards him, and The Doctor tried to let them calm him down. He was going to find out the mysteries revolving around Rose Tyler soon enough, he was sure of it. He wondered if she was even _aware_ of the changes her timeline had gone through the past day or so, or if he was just so worried he was letting his imagination run wild.

Until The Doctor was sure, he would keep quiet, not wanting to worry Rose needlessly. For now, he’d trust the TARDIS, at least until he couldn’t stop himself from trying to peek at her timeline again. He was INCREDIBLY curious, after all. It almost always led him into trouble.

Standing up, The Doctor moved back to the console, trying to push the situation to the back of his mind for the time being so he could focus instead on taking Rose somewhere he was sure she’d love. Flipping a switch, he moved to turn a dial, smiling faintly as an idea came to mind.

* * *

Shutting the door to her room, Rose let out a long exhale, resting her head back against the cool metal, her mind a complete whirl. She’d decided to put her bag away primarily as an excuse to have a chance to breathe. Being with The Doctor again was everything she’d ever hoped, but she _hated_ keeping secrets from him, and having him so close and not being able to feel their bond was still surprisingly painful.

With John, it had become normal for them both to reach out to one another through the bond, sending waves of love and comfort. It had become as common as holding hands and she still found herself subconsciously trying to reach out with her mind, though she knew technically there WAS no bond. John didn’t exist here, so the bond had never technically been struck in this timeline.

She could still remember how it felt to BE bonded, which would explain her attempts to reach out and her conscious awareness of how quiet it was inside of her head, but there was no pain to cripple her every time she thought about John, and that in itself was a huge relief. For the first time in a year, she felt like she could think clearly again.

Dropping the bag down onto her bed, Rose opened it up, taking out the few things she’d bought from the asteroid bazaar. She’d picked up a pretty scarf that shifted colours in the light, the bazoolium trinket, plus some kind of alien hairdryer with different dials which could not only blow dry her hair but curl it and straighten it, along with lots of other settings she couldn’t wait to try out.

There were a few other small items, but the things she had deemed MOST important were two coils of pure white rope she’d bought whilst The Doctor’s back had been turned. The vendor had assured her it was the strongest rope available to the general public at that time, and was made of a special fibre called _Gorona_. Apparently, it couldn’t be physically be cut or torn, and if what he’d said was to be believed, Rose felt like she’d just found her safety net to help her stay with The Doctor during the battle of Canary Wharf.

“Time to test it out, I guess – that bloke better not have ripped me off,” Rose muttered to herself, moving over to her vanity. She picked up a pair of scissors, snipping them lightly before she rested the rope between the blades. It wasn’t incredibly thick, nor did it _look_ very strong, but Rose was willing to try to give it a chance. She tried to cut down on the rope, but was met with some resistance. Encouraged, Rose tried to open and close the scissors rapidly on the rope, but didn’t even seem to be making a dent in the material.

Setting the scissors down, Rose dropped one end of the rope on the ground and stepped on it, gripping the rest of the coil firmly in her hands. Pulling it as hard as she could, she gritted her teeth, straining as much as possible until she could feel her muscles burning in protest. Relaxing once she was sure she couldn’t pull anymore, Rose let out a huff of air before inspecting the rope, smiling slowly when she realised there wasn’t even a scuff mark.

“Alrigh’, _definitely_ not ripped off, then.” Glancing at the ceiling, Rose held up the coil with a smile. “What d’you think? Will it help?”

The TARDIS sent a wave of encouragement to the blonde, and confidence welled up within her, prompting her smile to turn to a grin as she set her purchase down on the bed.

“Right, now I just gotta figure out how to carry this rope around with me when I’m at Torchwood,” She mused to herself thoughtfully. “Could carry a bag with me, I guess…” Setting her hands on her hips, Rose frowned down at the rope, only to blink in surprise as an image of her TARDIS blue jacket flickered to life in her mind. Touching her temple, she shot another curious look at the ceiling. Ever since she’d returned from the other world, she’d noticed her connection with the TARDIS was even stronger than before. She’d been able to sense and feel the ship after the Bad Wolf incident, but now she could understand her so easily.

It was confusing, but Rose certainly wasn’t going to complain. She needed all the help she could get, after all.

Lifting up her jacket from the bed, Rose checked the outer pockets, but they seemed relatively normal. She wasn’t sure how this could help her hide two coils of rope, and turned it around, pausing when she noticed pockets in the inner lining that she hadn’t seen earlier when she’d put it on. Reaching inside one of them, Rose’s eyes slowly widened as her hand didn’t stop, moving past the wrist and then up to her elbow. Rose couldn’t help it, she laughed loudly, pulling back her hand as her grin only broadened.

“Oh, he’s not gonna be happy that he’s not the only one with bigger on the inside pockets anymore!” She noted gleefully, giggling at the mere thought of the look that would appear on his face when he found out. “This is PERFECT, thank you!”

Picking up the coils of rope, she slipped them into the pockets, noticing curiously that the weight hadn’t changed at all. She supposed much like how the TARDIS operated on a multi-dimensional level; the pockets did too, rendering their mass null. She wasn’t a genius, nor did she fully understand Time Lord Technology, but that was her best guess.

Hanging the jacket over her bedpost, Rose picked up the bazoolium trinket she’d bought for Jackie, setting it down on top of her vanity. Her thoughts began to stray to her mother as she looked down at the small object, thinking back on her idea to try to give her mum a piece of her original universe when she went over to Pete’s world.

“Don’t s’pose you’ve got any bigger on the inside bags for me too?” Rose asked hopefully, directing the question towards the TARDIS. The ship seemed to understand her intent, clever girl that she was, and Rose’s closet door opened by its own accord, revealing what looked to be a small sling bag in a matching colour to her jacket hanging inside. Delighted, Rose took the bag, opening it up before reaching her hand inside, noting gleefully that she could get her full arm inside before she hit what felt like the bottom.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Rose smiled fondly as she drew back her hand, choosing to rest it on the wall and trying to send a wave of gratitude out telepathically. It was difficult, not having a specific bond to focus on, but when she felt a warm sensation of love wash over her in response, she sighed, content.

It struck her then, that she’d nicknamed the TARDIS without thinking too much about it, and she wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. God, now she finally understood where The Doctor was coming from when he’d whisper lovingly to the console and stroke it when he thought she wasn’t looking. He was just showing his love and affection to the old girl, and Rose honestly couldn’t blame him for it now.

“Everythin’s comin’ together,” She noted after a moment, moving to sit at her vanity, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her fingers moved to run through her hair, tilting her head from side to side. When she’d seen her reflection earlier, she’d thought she looked younger, but _did_ she?

Looking at herself now, Rose honestly didn’t think she didn’t look that much different than she had seven years ago. Well, compared to how she’d looked in Pete’s world – Blimey, it would take some getting used to trying to figure out her tenses.

Reaching out, Rose picked up the bazoolium again, running her thumbs over the metal thoughtfully. She was going to see her mum again soon for the last time in a while, she knew that. She knew she’d eventually see Jackie again once the stars started to go out, but _still_. As far as Jackie knew, once she was in Pete’s world, she’d never see her daughter again, and though Rose was sure The Doctor would help her say goodbye to her mum the way he’d said goodbye to her, two minutes just wasn’t enough.

Setting it down, Rose reached instead for a piece of paper and a pen, turning it thoughtfully in her fingers before she ducked down her head and began to write. She’d leave the letter in the bag with the photo albums she’d collect for Jackie, and Rose hoped it would be something for Jackie to hold onto while they couldn’t see each other.

It was the best she could do, for now.

* * *

“There she is! Blimey, you said you were only putting your shopping away, how much stuff did you actually get? Then again, you can fit twenty things into one single bag somehow; your packing skills never cease to amaze me.”

The Doctor’s babbling was a welcome distraction as Rose made her way back to the console room, moving over to the jump seat and sitting down on it, watching as the Time Lord moved grandly around the circle of buttons, gears and levers he claimed to know so well. Writing the letter to her mum had left her feeling overly emotional, and frankly, she felt like she needed something to lift her spirits.

“That’s my old shop girl instincts kickin’ in there,” Rose quipped in response, lightly tugging at the sleeves of the jacket she’d chosen to put back on. “Those skills are good for somethin’ afterall, eh?”

The Doctor flashed Rose a grin in response, pulling down a lever before he moved backwards, sweeping out his arms grandly as he gestured to the TARDIS doors. With Rose in the room again, her timeline seemed to shine even brighter, illuminating his senses to the point of near distraction. He wasn’t sure how the TARDIS expected him to hold back on discovering the truth, but he could only hope it wouldn’t take too long.

He wasn’t sure how long he could resist the temptation when it was presented so openly to him like this.

“Right then, Rose Tyler! Out there, the year six-hundred and fifty thousand by the Earth calendar, but we’re NOT on Earth; instead we’re on the planet Huru. Been a while since I’ve been here, honestly but from what I remember, they’re supposed to have INCREDIBLE ice cream. _Well_ , I say ice cream, it’s not, but it’s close enough, honestly.” He tugged lightly at his earlobe as he mused. “More importantly, though, this is supposed to be their golden year of peace, which means a week-long celebration. There’ll be music, culture, dancing, plus, some _brilliant_ food. No chips, unfortunately for you, but you’ll find a way to cope, I’m sure.”

“This ice cream doesn’t taste purely of bananas, right?” Rose asked, lifting her eyebrows, though she was grinning, and The Doctor rolled his eyes slightly.

“Everything I just said and you focus on that? No, the ice cream doesn’t taste of bananas, honestly, that’s not all I think about Rose.” He shook his head, mockingly disappointed, and Rose snorted.

“Could’ve fooled me,” She shot back, but The Doctor chose to tactfully ignore the jab, holding out his hand with a smile.

“Well? What d’you say Rose Tyler? Brave new world out there, ready to celebrate five-hundred years of peace – it’s not something you see every day.”

Smiling back at him, Rose could see the hope in his eyes, and she softened considerably, pushing herself to stand. She didn’t reply with words, choosing instead to take his hand, linking their fingers together with ease.

It was time for another adventure.


	5. Army of Ghosts Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so! We begin with Army of Ghosts and Doomsday, the two episodes I can't watch without crying like a little baby... Rose has her work cut out for her, but she's ready and willing to take the challenge!
> 
> Also, in response to a query regarding angst and Martha in this story...You'll just have to wait and see how it turns out! I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!

About one week or so (it was hard to tell on the TARDIS) after Rose had returned after years of separation from The Doctor, she woke up with a feeling of dread she couldn’t quite explain pooling in her stomach. Sitting up in bed, Rose squinted slightly in the dim light of the room, unable to explain the sensation that washed over her, and had torn her from her sleep.

She heard the TARDIS hum worriedly in the back of her mind, and Rose understood in an instant what was going on. The TARDIS was warning her that it was finally time, and with a somewhat sardonic smile, Rose couldn’t help but feel that she finally understood what it meant to have someone _walk over your grave_ , though this time, she supposed **she** was the one doing the walking.

“It’s time, isn’t it old girl?” Rose mused aloud, pressing her hand gently against the wall, and the TARDIS hummed in soft agreement. She could practically feel the waves of tension rolling from the ship, and she tried to hold back a grimace. Everything was riding on her to change the timeline, and she could only hope her idea would work out the way she’d wanted. She’d gone over it multiple times in her mind, trying to figure out everything she needed, and she felt like she had it down.

Pushing herself out of bed, Rose moved to her bathroom, stripping down before stepping into her shower, turning on the hot water. She stood there for a moment, letting the water run down her body and the steam fog up her vision, trying to wash away her rising anxiety. There was no question that this had once been the worst day of her life, but with some luck, it would become the best day, instead.

Once she was washed and dried, using her new hairdryer to ensure her hair was straight, Rose picked out an outfit, ensuring she topped it out with her TARDIS blue leather jacket. With its dimensionally transcendental pockets, she felt like it would become a staple of her wardrobe here on in, much like The Doctor’s coat, she supposed.

Shaking her head with a smile, Rose bent down and picked up her rucksack from where it lay in the corner of her room. She only used it to pack up her clothes to give them to her mum, and her room wasn’t exactly the cleanest it had ever been, so she’d never gotten around to putting most of her clothes away, and the clothes that DID need washing usually went straight into the rucksack.

Picking up some stray clothes, Rose stuffed them into the backpack, not paying too much attention to what she put in – it didn’t matter, since Jackie wouldn’t end up washing them anyway.

Once Rose was satisfied with how full the rucksack was, she picked up the bigger on the inside bag the TARDIS had given her, along with the letter to her mum that sat on her desk. Her expression softened as she pressed a soft kiss to the paper, slipping it into the bag, before she put the sling bag into the rucksack on top of her clothes.

Sealing it up, Rose hefted it over one of her shoulders, sucking in a deep breath to keep herself calm, and left her room, intending to go to the control room. It was time for The Doctor to take her home.

The TARDIS shortened the length of the trip, which she was grateful for, and didn’t see fit to try to make her _eat_ anything with a detour to the kitchen, either. Rose doubted she’d even be able to stomach anything today. Once this was all over, maybe then she’d be able to eat.

The Doctor was tinkering with something underneath the console as he so often did, though he seemed to perk up when he heard her approaching. He sat up on the grating and pulled off his ‘brainy specs’ in order to flash her a cheerful smile.

“Aha! There she is! Honestly, do you have any idea how long you slept? I swear, your sleeping cycle increases every single night, it’s a miracle you haven’t gone into hibernation yet.”

“Shut up,” Rose scoffed, setting her bag down on the ground, and The Doctor eyed it for a moment, before he seemed to understand. He pushed himself up, sliding the grating back to its proper place and gripped the strap of the rucksack, lifting it up to test its weight.

“How much washing do you even HAVE in here? Are you just trying to break your mum’s washing machine? Let me tell you, If _that_ goes bust, I’m not paying for another one.” He set it back down on the ground, mockingly rubbing his arm as though it hurt just to lift the clothes up.

“You don’t pay for anythin’ anyway, but I’d like to see you try to get out of buying mum a new washer. _I_ let you get away with being a cheapskate, she won’t. Besides, I let it pile up so we don’t have to go back to hers so often,” Rose quipped back, grinning playfully. “I’m doing it for _your_ benefit, y’know.”

“That is honestly the most noble sacrifice you could ever make,” The Doctor agreed solemnly, “If that’s the case, then IF by some _shocking miracle_ your mother’s washing machine DOES break, I’ll be sure to fix it before we go on our way to thank you.”

“Aw, you’re sweet,” Rose teased with a giggle, and The Doctor smiled in response, flipping a few switches on the console.

“Right then! To the Powell Estate, July 2007!”

* * *

Hopping lightly out of the TARDIS, Rose pulled her backpack over her shoulders with ease, shooting a grin at The Doctor as he followed her out, shutting the TARDIS doors behind them. Though she knew what lay ahead, her previous unease had melted into tentative confidence. The memories of the battle were still so vivid, she doubted she’d have any problems remembering what needed to be done or where she needed to go. She knew she needed to be in the sphere chamber when it opened to stop the Daleks from killing Mickey and (hopefully) Rajesh. She just needed to get the timing right.

She began to walk, and The Doctor was quick to follow, reaching for her hand without hesitation and shot her a grin which made her stomach twist with happiness.

“Mum, it’s us! We’re back!” Rose called out, opening up the door to the flat, broad smile already on her lips as Jackie rushed into the hallway from the living room.

“Oh, I don’t know why you bother with that phone, you never use it!” Jackie huffed in fond exasperation, before she pulled Rose into a tight hug. “Oh, I love you!” Rose laughed in response, hugging her back tightly and trying to fight back the well of emotion that swelled within her. She’d be saying goodbye to Jackie soon, even though if it wasn’t goodbye forever, it would still hurt.

“I love you too, mum!” She mumbled, but pulled back from the hug as The Doctor tried to slide past them both. Jackie wasn’t having any of it, and let go of her daughter to grasp him, pulling him down for two big kisses, which caused Rose to let out a snort of amusement, seeing the look of disbelief and mild disgust on The Doctor’s face. She slipped into the living room, looking around with a fond sense of nostalgia. Had it really been seven years since she’d last seen this flat?

The Doctor followed Rose into the room, grimacing as he wiped his hand over his mouth, looking every inch a pouting toddler, and she lightly elbowed him in the side.

“Could be worse,” She pointed out lightly. “She could’ve slapped you one. She’s just showin’ you she likes you.”

“I think I’d prefer the slap, to be honest,” The Doctor mumbled in response, and Rose bit back a laugh, pressing her tongue to her teeth in her famous grin as she shrugged off her rucksack, prompting The Doctor to finally smile, before he moved over to a stack of magazines, choosing to flick through them to give Rose some time with her mother.

“I’ve got loads of washin’ for you, mum,” Rose confessed, dropping the bag down to the floor, before she reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out the bazoolium trinket. “Plus, I got ya this from some asteroid bazaar. It’s called bazoolium. When it gets cold, yeah, It means it’s gonna rain, but when it’s hot, it’ll mean it’s gonna be sunny. You could use it to tell the weather!” Rose couldn’t help but smile, lifting an eyebrow, though she knew what her mother’s answer would be.

The Doctor, for his part, could only smile at Rose’s excited explanation, his hearts swelling with pride, though he did tear his gaze from the magazines when Jackie announced she had a surprise for Rose, too. He caught Rose’s eye, and was startled at the flicker of unease and worry he saw there, before she seemed to brush it aside.

“Guess who's coming to visit?” Jackie continued, clearly excited about the guest. “You're just in time, he'll be here at ten past! Who do you think it is?” She asked Rose, who folded her arms, uncomfortable.

“I dunno, mum, just tell me, yeah?” She sighed, lightly biting the inside of her cheek, and Jackie beamed at her in response.

“It's your Grandad Prentice. He's on his way, any minute now!” She informed her happily, before rushing off to make some tea. Rose swallowed thickly as The Doctor moved up beside her, and sucked in a slow breath, reaching up to lightly grip at the cuff of his suit jacket, causing his gaze to switch to her curiously.

“Doctor, my Grandad’s dead,” She told him quietly, and his eyes widened faintly at the implication. Either Jackie was losing it, or something much more serious was going on here. He nodded, setting his jaw, and followed Rose as she headed into the kitchen after her mother. “Mum, Grandad’s dead,” She tried to remind her softly, biting on her bottom lip. “You remember that, yeah? His heart gave out. How can he be here if he’s gone?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Jackie asked lightly, moving to check her watch. “Ten past, here he comes.” She turned to the side, watching as a humanoid figure, featureless and dark, much like a shadow, seemed to emerge from thin air. It didn’t do much other than stand there, but from the way Jackie was beaming it was as though her father was literally stood right by her.

The Doctor stared, slack-jawed at the sight, turning his gaze to Rose to see if she was seeing the same thing, only to be taken by surprise at her reaction. Instead of shock, he could only see _anger_. She was pale, staring at the ghost with what he could only describe as loathing in her eyes, lightly trembling with her hands curled into tight fists. It baffled him, but he couldn’t dwell on it for too long – he needed to see if these ghosts were anywhere else. Turning, he grimaced, sprinting for the front door of the flat, shouting out behind him: “Rose, come on!”

Forcing herself to turn from the ‘ghost’ – Rose immediately followed after him, trying to calm the anger welling up through her veins. The Cybermen and the Daleks had taken everything from her, killed thousands of innocent people, and it made her sick to her stomach to think that they were fooling people into thinking their loved ones were back from the grave. The sooner they were back in the void, the better.

Sprinting out of the apartment complex, Rose quickly joined The Doctor as he stared around him in disbelief, seeing the ghosts milling around absently, with no-one even batting an eye.

“They’re everywhere…” The Doctor mused quietly, turning with a jolt as Rose shouted out his name in a warning. One of the ghosts passed straight through him, causing an immediate sense of wrongness to pass through his body, along with a sensation of extreme cold. He shuddered as a natural response, shaking out his arms as both Rose and Jackie joined his side, staring out at the ghosts.

This was definitely wrong.

“They haven't got long,” Jackie offered, clearly seeing nothing wrong with the situation, which was even MORE confusing to him. “Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade.”

“What do you mean, shift?” He asked sharply, gesturing to the ghosts around him. “Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?” He demanded, fingers moving to run through his hair, and Jackie’s answering smile was a little smug.

“Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?” She pointed out to Rose, but her daughter simply shot her a warning look in response, her lips pressed firmly together. The Doctor could tell these ‘ghosts’ were bothering her even more than him, but he’d have to ask why later. For now, he needed to get to the bottom of this.

“No one's running or screaming or freaking out or—“

“Why should we?” Jackie lifted her eyebrows slightly, bemused. “Here we go. Twelve minutes past.” She turned, glancing briefly at her watch, and as if on cue, the ghosts began to fade, leaving nothing but more questions in their wake. It was time to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

Chewing lightly on her thumbnail, Rose watched dispassionately as The Doctor, glasses perched on his nose, flicked through the TV channels all revolving around the ghosts, feeling the old anxiety she’d earlier felt twisting around in her gut. She’d felt confident to begin with, but knowing so much and not being able to DO anything was frustrating. She wanted to tell The Doctor everything, to get to Torchwood, to stop the Cybermen and send the Void ship back where it belonged, but she _couldn’t_.

As Jackie began to explain when the ghosts had started to appear, Rose shook her head slightly, sharing a look with The Doctor who looked equally perturbed.

“Woke up one morning, and there they all were - ghosts, everywhere.” Jackie was saying, gesturing around her with her hands. “We all ran round screaming and that, whole planet was panicking... no sign of YOU, thank you very much...” She sent a pointed look to The Doctor, who simply lifted an eyebrow in response. “Then it sort of sank in. Took us time to realise that... we're lucky.”

“Mum, it’s not grandad,” Rose offered softly, moving her hand to touch Jackie’s knee gently, trying to make her understand, but Jackie simply frowned at her. “I know you wanna believe it, but I really don’t think it’s ‘im.”

“What d’you mean?” Jackie argued faintly, biting down on the bottom of her lip lightly. “There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?” She asked, and Rose shook her head, squeezing her knee lightly.

“No, I can’t. There’s nothin’.”

“You've got to make an effort. You've got to WANT it, sweetheart.” Jackie insisted, and Rose sighed, running her fingers lightly through her hair, trying to not get frustrated. This was like the most surreal sense of deja vu she’d ever experienced, and she turned to The Doctor once he finally started speaking again.

“The more you want it, the stronger it gets?” He guessed, and Rose could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to think up a cause and origin of these mysterious anomalies.

“Sort of, yeah.” Jackie conceded, and Rose could sense the wariness in her voice.

“It’s like a psychic link.” The Doctor concluded, and Rose nodded once in agreement. “’Course you want your old dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in.”

“Usin’ your memories of your loved ones as a way to force themselves into reality,” Rose muttered, and The Doctor’s eyes flickered to her, noticing the disdain in her eyes. At least she seemed to grab just how bad this situation was, but then, she did pick up on things quite quickly. “It’s twisted and it’s not fair on everyone, thinkin’ the people they love are coming back to life.”

Jackie looked to her daughter and The Doctor in disbelief, hurt evident on her face. She didn’t want to hear this, she just wanted to believe for once, why couldn’t they just let her do that? “You're spoiling it. Both of you are.”

“I'm sorry, Jackie, but there's no smell, there's no cigarettes. Just a memory.” The Doctor tried to let her down as gently as he could. He could understand the human desire to see your lost loved ones again, but this whole situation was wrong. Nothing seemed to add up.

“But the ghosts, they're human! You can see them - they LOOK human!” Jackie pointed out, and Rose leaned back in her seat slightly, closing her eyes.

“Just because they might look human doesn’t mean they are,” She pointed out softly. “The Doctor’s proof enough of that, mum. “ She opened her eyes once more, seeing the frustrated look Jackie shot her along with the faint smirk playing onto The Doctor’s lips, though he quickly sobered up.

“Exactly, Rose. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world, but a footprint doesn't look like a boot.” He pushed himself up onto his feet, whipping his specs off of his face and slipping them into his pocket. “The ghosts are obviously coming from _somewhere_ , and if I can figure out where the power source is coming from, we can follow the trail and figure out just _what_ they are. To do that, though, I’d need- OH! Brilliant!” He grinned, manic energy seeming to fill him up, and Rose pushed herself to stand too, smiling back at him brightly.

“Right then, go on, go do your thing, I’ll try t’find out more about these ghosts the human way, yeah? I’ll meet you at the TARDIS.” She waved her hands at him dismissively, and he shot her a wink before immediately rushing to the living room door, only to pause briefly.

“Jackie, when’s the next ghost shift?”

Glancing at the clock for a second, Jackie was quick to look back at The Doctor, frowning slightly. She wasn’t sure what he was planning, but she felt as though whatever it was would only lead to them losing the ghosts, and honestly? She wasn’t ready or prepared for that.

“Just over half an hour from now,” She told him somewhat reluctantly, and he grinned again, glancing at the clock himself.

“Brilliant! That gives me plenty of time to whip something up!” He turned once more; full of his usual energy now he had something to focus on, and he exited the living room, the front door shutting just a few seconds later. Jackie let out a small scoff before she walked into the kitchen, intent on making another cup of tea to calm herself down, or so Rose could only guess – that was her mother’s answer to everything.

Now that everyone else was out of the room, Rose inhaled deeply, trying to work the tension out of her shoulders. She didn’t have much time to collect some things for her mother to take to the other universe, so she’d need to act fast. She moved quickly to her rucksack and opened it up, pulling out the sling bag she’d stuck at the top that morning. She slipped the bazoolium inside the smaller bag with a half-smile before heading for where her mother kept the family photo albums, in a shoebox on top of her wardrobe.

Standing on the balls of her feet, Rose reached up and took the box down, grinning triumphantly before she carried it to Jackie’s bed and set it down. Opening it up, Rose lifted out the two leather bound books inside, running her fingers lightly over the worn material. It had tormented Jackie quite frequently in her previous timeline, not having these old memories to look back on, and Rose hugged the books to her chest, happy that she could at least give this to her mother.

Flipping open the book to a random page, Rose faltered when she came across a photo of herself, aged fifteen or so, hugging Jackie around the middle. They were both beaming at the camera, and Rose traced the image with her fingertip, feeling the beginnings of tears begin to build in her eyes. She’d keep this one.

Peeling back the cellophane keeping the picture in place, Rose pulled it out before she smoothed the cover back down, carefully tucking her new keepsake into her inner pocket.

“That’s enough reminiscin’, Rose,” She tried to remind herself, closing the book with a sharp _snap_. “You’ve got a job to do, so y’better hop to it.” She slipped the first album into her bag, following it up with the second. She pursed her lips as she looked at the rest of the contents of the box, knowing this was her mum’s keepsake box. She loved _everything_ in here, and sighing, Rose began to pull it all out of the box to put into the bag. Her baby book was there, some things belonging to her grandparents, some handmade cards from Rose herself, among other little items – just memories, really.

Once she was satisfied that she’d packed enough memories to keep her mother satisfied, Rose closed the bag and fastened it shut, slipping the strap over her shoulder and head comfortably. Well, that was stage one of her plan complete, at least.

She headed out of the bedroom, intending to go outside to help The Doctor, when she heard the sound of her mother bustling around in the kitchen. She hesitated, chancing a look at the door and biting her bottom lip. This could be her last chance to _hug_ her mother before they were separated and there was just so much she wanted to say.

“Mum?” Rose stood in the doorway of the kitchen as Jackie poured some hot water from the kettle into a mug, swallowing back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. “You know I love you, yeah? I’m sorry I don’t come round all that much now.”

“Oh, what’s brought all this on then?” Jackie turned to look at Rose suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. “Did he put you up to this? Is he gonna whisk you off for another year and you’re tryin’ to warn me in advance this time? I’ll have somethin’ to say about that, I’ll tell ya right now.” She scowled slightly, and Rose fought back a smile.

“No, I just wanted to tell ya,” She insisted quietly, and Jackie softened when she both heard and saw the sincerity in her daughter words, setting down the kettle in order to bring Rose close in a hug, which she reciprocated immediately, clinging to her like she was just a little girl again. Sometimes it felt like she didn’t even recognise the woman she’d become, but she couldn’t deny she was _proud_. She didn’t understand this mad life she led, but she loved her daughter, and that was enough.

“I love you too, sweetheart,”

* * *

The easiest way to figure out just what the ghosts were was to find out just WHERE they were coming from. There had to be some kind of energy source or power which was granting them the ability to disappear and reappear on schedule. Luckily, The Doctor had an idea brewing in his mind, and he grinned to himself as he disappeared below the TARDIS console, needing to gather all of the items he’d need to try to catch a ghost.

Eventually he pulled out two conical objects, turning them over in his hands, before he jumped up and rushed out of the TARDIS with them in hand. He set them down on the grass, checking their distance from one another with a critical eye. Ah, he knew he had another one of them somewhere, not to mention he still needed something to plug them into the TARDIS.

He couldn’t trap a ghost without her, after all.

He disappeared inside of his ship once more, jumping down below the console, digging around and frowning slightly. Bit of a mess, he should learn to tidy up a little mor- AHA! The Doctor grinned triumphantly, lifting up the final cone before he set it up on the grating above him. He searched for a little while longer, eventually pulling out a spool of wire and an object that looked almost like a backpack. He slipped it on, fiddling with the device connected to the bag. This could work – it was like a giant battery of sorts, which COULD help him give the trap a little extra boost of power.

This wasn’t its original purpose, but with a bit of re-wiring…

The doors to the TARDIS opened up and The Doctor knew Rose was coming, smiling faintly at the sound of her voice as she walked over towards the console.

“According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds.” She sounded just as exasperated as he felt at that news, and he rolled his eyes slightly. “So, what’re we gonna do about this?”

As the device in his hand powered up, he brightened, before looking up at Rose and rising out from below the console, deciding to try for something he was sure would make her laugh AND was genre appropriate for the moment. “Who're you gonna call?”

Rose’s answering laugh was infectious, but she stayed true to form, shouting out after him like he knew she would. “Ghostbusters!”

“I ain't afraid of no ghosts.” The Doctor added, kicking his leg for extra effect before he picked up the final cone and the wire and rushed for the doors of the TARDIS, Rose close behind. He ran to his set-up, setting the final cone down, checking their positions once more, eyebrows furrowed, before directing his next words at Jackie, who’d come to join them. “When's the next shift?”

Jackie looked down at her watch, frowning slightly. “Quarter to. But don't go causing trouble - What's that lot do?” She gestured to his (rather ingenious, really) trap, and The Doctor moved to pick up the various sections of wire he needed, beginning to plug them into the ports on the cones.

“Triangulates their point of origin.” He informed her simply, and Rose tucked her hair behind her ear, obviously concerned. Rose had a very good sense of when something wasn’t right, and he wasn’t surprised she’d not taken this news of the ghosts well, but there was something else going on here - the way she’d looked when she’d seen the ghost had obviously been hatred. He’d never seen that look in her eyes before and it worried him.

“What d’you think they are then? If y’had to guess?” Rose asked quietly, and The Doctor shook his head slightly. He could worry about Rose once they’d figured out just what was going on.

“Not sure yet, it’s hard to tell. What I DO know, is that this lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet like tracing paper. “ He told her as he continued to plug the cones together, connecting them into one large circuit.

“You're always doing this, reducing it to science. Why can't it be real?” Jackie demanded, pursing her lips slightly, though The Doctor ignored her. “Just think of it, though... all the people we've lost - our families coming back home, don't you think it's beautiful?” She urged, her eyes wide with optimism, and The Doctor finally looked at her, his expression grim.

“I think it's horrific.” He offered flatly, and Jackie’s face fell. “Rose, give us a hand!” He unravelled the wire from its spool, needing it to reach all the way inside of the TARDIS, before he ran inside, Rose close on his heels. He plugged the wire into the alternate power port, speaking rapidly as Rose came up beside him, needing her to understand but not having much time to explain.

“As soon as it becomes activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there. If it doesn't stop...” He held up his sonic screwdriver in front of her eyes, prompting her to go slightly cross-eyed as she stared at it. “Setting 15B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop.”

Rose took the screwdriver from him, face full of determination. “15B, eight seconds. “ She repeated, and The Doctor nodded.

“If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left.” He told her, and Rose brightened slightly, flashing him a grin.

“Hang on a minute, I know this, It's that one.” Rose pointed to the button in question, and he shot her a delighted smile, prompting her to giggle.

“Oooh, brilliant, you’re getting better at this! Now, what've we got? Two minutes to go?” He looked back up at Jackie who had followed them into the TARDIS, and she nodded after checking her watch. The Doctor grinned, offering Rose a wink, before he sprinted back outside to begin to power up his trap.

Once The Doctor left, Rose kept her focus on the scanner, vividly aware of Jackie coming closer, watching her with an unreadable expression on her face. She knew where this inevitable conversation was going to go, and she was dreading it already. She watched the line turn red as the device activated and pressed the blue button The Doctor had pointed to before plunging the sonic into the correct port and hitting the button to activate it.

“What's the line doing?” The Doctor called from outside, and Rose pulled back the sonic after eight seconds, noting the line had finally stabilised.

“It's all right, it's holding!” She shouted back, trying not to wince as Jackie’s voice piped up softly from behind her.

“You even look like him.” Her mother mused quietly, and Rose forced herself to smile in response.

“S’pose I do, yeah.” She conceded, and Jackie stepped closer, and Rose couldn’t bear to look at her, to see the sadness in her eyes.

“You've changed so much.”

“For the better.” Rose pointed out immediately, her forced smile beginning to fade.

“I s'pose.” Jackie whispered.

“No, mum, I have.” Rose turned back to Jackie, her eyes begging her mother to understand. “Before I met The Doctor, I was just _existing_. I was this stupid teenager who never made anythin’ of herself because she fell for someone who took advantage of her in the worst ways and after that I felt like I could never do anything right. I felt like nothin’, I felt _worthless_ , and that’s not your fault, before you even start thinkin’ that, but it’s how I felt. Then I met The Doctor, mum, and I finally understood, I AM worth something, I’m not stupid or useless or anythin’ like that, I can make a difference. I’m _happy_. Not just because I’m travelling, but because I feel worthy for the first time in my life. The Doctor didn’t change me, not really, he just showed me who I could really be.” Rose reached out, taking Jackie’s hands, and her mum stared back at her, tears in her eyes.

“I’m just worried about you, Rose. What happens when I’m gone? You’re just gonna keep travelling until you can’t? Then what? He drops you off on Earth and you need to start a life all on your own?” Jackie shook her head slightly, and Rose smiled tiredly.

“I dunno what’s in my future, mum, I’ve got no idea how it’ll go. I just need to live in the moment, and do what makes me _happy_.” She squeezed Jackie’s hands, but before she could respond, The Doctor’s voice came from outside, and Rose let go of Jackie to turn back to the scanner, blinking back tears.

“The scanner’s working, it says delta one six!” Rose shouted, glad that her voice still sounded steady, and she watched on the screen in front of her as the ghost appeared in The Doctor’s device, trapped by some field of electricity. Her expression hardened as she gazed at the ghost, her fingers gripping tightly to the console.

Not much longer now, everything was falling into place.


	6. Army of Ghosts Part Two

By the time the ghost had disappeared, The Doctor already had the information that he needed in order to find out where the power source forcing the ghosts into existence was coming from. He rushed into the TARDIS, dropping down his equipment before tugging off his coat and draping it over one of the coral struts. His eyes were alive with energy as he darted around the console, pressing buttons to lock onto the source he’d triangulated.

“I said so!” He grinned, pressing a few more buttons in order to send his magnificent ship into flight. “Those ghosts have been FORCED into existence for one specific point! And I can track down the source. Allons-y!” He flipped one final switch and the TARDIS shuddered, nearly knocking himself and Rose flat, though they both regained their balance quickly. “I like that. 'Allons-y'. I should say 'allons-y' more often. 'Allons-y'. Watch out, Rose Tyler! Allons-y! And THEN, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonzo. Because then I could say, 'allons-y, Alonzo'! Every time! You're staring at me.” He cut off his babbling abruptly, noticing that Rose had just been watching him with an unreadable expression on her face.

“My mum's still on board.” Rose told him in a soft whisper, nodding her head to the right. The Doctor froze, slowly lifting his eyes up, and true to form, Jackie Tyler was sat on the gantries, her expression stone as she glared at him.

“If we end up on Mars, I'm gonna kill you.” She threatened, folding her arms, and The Doctor looked back at Rose who simply lifted her eyebrows in response. Ah, well, this just got more complicated, didn’t it?

The TARDIS engines quickly came to a stop, and The Doctor tried to ignore Jackie as she hopped down from her seat to come and join them, focusing instead on the monitor in front of him which showed him just where he’d landed. Unfortunately, it seemed as though they were now surrounded by soldiers with guns.

Guns – why did it have to be _guns_?

“Oh, well there goes the advantage of surprise. Still! Cuts to the chase.” The Doctor sighed, before he headed towards the doors, directing his next words to Rose. “Stay in here, look after Jackie.”

“I'm not looking after my mum!” Rose snapped back in response, following after him with Jackie close behind them both.

“Well, you brought her!”

“I was kidnapped!” Jackie piped up, but Rose moved in front of The Doctor to block his way, her wide eyes searching his own, obviously worried.

“Doctor, they've got _guns_.”

“And I haven't. Which makes me the better person, don't you think?” Setting his hand lightly on Rose’s waist, he moved her gently out of the way. He could understand her concern, but he had lives to spare, they didn’t. “They can shoot me dead, but the moral high-ground is mine.” With that, he opened up the door and stepped out, leaving it slightly open so Rose could easily see and hear what was happening.

The moment she could hear Yvonne Hartman’s voice, Rose’s expression hardened, and she clenched her hands into fists. This woman was indirectly responsible for all of this, and though every inch of her being wanted to go out there and shake some sense into her, she held her ground, biting the inside of her mouth as the director of Torchwood indirectly ordered The Doctor to bring out his companion.

In response, he reached into the TARDIS, dragging Jackie out with him, and Rose fought back the urge to roll her eyes as he began to insult her. Honestly, he was lucky Jackie hadn’t slapped him again for that. Rude and not ginger indeed. She sighed, closing her eyes before resting her head against the door, hearing The Doctor’s final cry of ‘allons-y!’ before she heard footsteps leading away, and she waited, knowing what would happen next. Torchwood would take the TARDIS, and when everyone was gone, then she could get out, find the sphere and find Mickey.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Ten minutes or so once The Doctor left, Rose heard the thrum of an engine approach, and her lips curled slightly in disdain. She’d hate to think of what those Torchwood scientists would try to do to the TARDIS if they had the chance. In the back of her mind, she heard the ship hum reassuringly, and Rose took strength from her comfort.

The ship shuddered as the soldiers outside began to hoist her onto the back of a truck, and Rose grimaced slightly, taking a chance to peer out of a small crack through the door, before she steeled herself and made her way over to The Doctor’s coat, still hanging over one of the coral struts. She reached into his pocket, digging around until she found the psychic paper, and she grinned slightly, pressing a kiss to the leather casing. It would be useless against everyone who worked in Torchwood, but this would be what she needed to get into the room with the sphere and the Daleks. She adjusted her bag and her jacket, patting herself down to ensure she had everything she’d need – there was no room for mistakes. The truck began to move, and Rose straightened her shoulders, moving back to the door, her hands pressing to the wood.

This was no different to her missions back in Pete’s world, really – and for now, she’d treat it as such. Lightly prying open the doors to peek out, her heart jumped when she caught sight of The Doctor nearby. Their eyes met and he nodded once, indicating she should try to find out all that she could due to their separation. His belief in her drew her to smile, and she shut the doors once more, nodding in determination.

She moved to the captain’s chair, taking a seat and adjusted the monitor in front of her, keeping an eye on where she was, trying to remember the way to the sphere room. She’d followed someone, if she was remembering that right. She tapped her thumb against her bottom lip, waiting, and when the TARDIS was finally set down in some kind of storage warehouse, Rose waited for the soldiers to leave and immediately headed for the door.

Slipping outside, Rose peered around one corner, noticing some soldiers talking to one another and turned, peering around the other, only to smile at the sight of a lab coat lying forgotten on top of a nearby table. Her disguise, right – couldn’t go anywhere without that.

She waited for some Torchwood employees to pass her by before slipping around the TARDIS, picking up the coat and pulling it on with ease. She readjusted her bag, making sure it was hidden under the white fabric before she held her chin high and began to walk with both confidence and purpose. She’d long since learned while travelling with The Doctor that if you acted like you belonged somewhere, not many people would question you.

Her eyes searched the sea of people around her, trying to recognise who she had followed the first time, and with a jolt, she saw him. Dressed in a lab coat much like her own, he pulled open a nearby door and exited the warehouse, prompting Rose to grin and follow after him, muttering a soft ‘ _gotcha_ ’ under her breath.

Unfortunately, Rose had almost forgotten just how much of a _maze_ Torchwood was, and she forced herself to powerwalk after the scientist, needing to keep up with his impressive stride. He began to get away from her at one point, and checking to make sure no-one else was around, Rose began to run, not wanting to lose sight of him. If she lost him down here, she likely wouldn’t make it to the sphere chamber, and she couldn’t let that happen.

Her run, however, finally brought her to a set of doors she recognised, and her eyes slowly widened. She let out a shaky breath, her hands beginning to lightly tremble. This was it; this was the room with the Daleks, the room where Mickey was waiting. She wanted to turn and run, to find The Doctor and stay by his side to ensure they wouldn’t be separated, but she knew she needed to be here. She needed to keep the Daleks interested in herself, Mickey and Rajesh to keep them alive.

Pressing the psychic paper to the door scanner, it opened up with no resistance, and Rose moved inside, feeling her stomach squirming anxiously at the sight of the bronze sphere hovering in the far end of the room. She walked forward slowly as she stared at the object, torn between anger and a strange sense of hypnosis towards it.

“Can I help you?”

Rajesh’s voice caught Rose’s attention, and she forced herself to look away from the void ship, focusing on the man in front of her who was watching her with a mixture of curiosity and obvious suspicion. She smiled brightly at him, though she knew it wouldn’t work, and nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Sorry about that, It’s still my first week, just getting used to all of this alien technology, you know? I’m up from personnel, actually, I just heard The Doctor was taken into custody, but there are some inconsistencies in his file we need to sort out. I heard he came down here, but I must’ve been wrong, that’s my mistake.” She flashed him another one of her winning smiles, and he considered her for a moment.

“Can I see your authorisation?” He asked, and Rose nodded in response, opening up the psychic paper to show it to him. “That’s lucky. You see, everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training.” He looked smug, and Rose closed the psychic paper with a hefty sigh. “This paper is blank. And you're a fake. Seal the room. Call security.” He instructed, and the doors closed. Rose folded her arms, a light smile still playing at her lips and didn’t seem too concerned. “Samuel? Can you check the door locks? She just walked right in.” Rajesh continued, and Rose had to contain her excitement as Mickey Smith turned around to face her.

“Doing it now, sir,” Mickey assured him, grinning at Rose behind Rajesh’s back, and Rose fought back the urge to run at him and hug him tightly. God, she’d missed that dumb face of his when he’d gone back to this universe. She hoped he’d been happy when he’d left, she really did.

“Oh alright then, s’pose I’ve been caught!” Rose’s voice was cheery as she strode over to Rajesh’s desk, ignoring the baffled look he gave her. She dropped herself down in a spinny chair, grinning openly as she cocked her head to one side.

“Let’s call your boss, yeah?”

* * *

“So these ghosts, whatever they are - did they build the sphere?”

The Doctor wasn’t having a good day, not at all. He was essentially a prisoner, (though it wouldn’t be the first time) he was separated from Rose, and human arrogance had nearly shattered the very fabric of reality itself. All in all, it hadn’t been one of his best days, but he was just hoping he could find a way to convince Yvonne to stop the ghost shifts altogether. There had to be a way to send the void ship back where it belonged along with the ghosts. If he could do that, then he could seal the breach, too.

He sighed at her question, leaning back in his chair and lifted his feet to cross them over one another on top of her desk. She shot him a disdainful look, but he didn’t react, choosing instead to try to wrack his brain.

“They must have. Aimed it at this dimension like a canon ball.” He muttered in response, frowning slightly. It was plausible, definitely, but something about it all just didn’t _feel_ right. He didn’t know what it was, but there was something he was missing, something _big_. His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the scientist he’d met in the sphere room, and he looked up as Yvonne touched the communicator plugged into her ear.

“ _Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a visitor.”_ Yvonne began to type at the laptop, bringing up her webcam, and The Doctor’s lips twitched as he realised who this _visitor_ was in an instant. Well, Rose had given it her best shot, he was sure. “ _We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor.”_

Yvonne looked at The Doctor with her eyebrows lifted slightly, clearly annoyed as she turned the laptop to show him the video image. Rose was sat next to Rajesh with a bright smile on her face, looking incredibly at ease and comfortable with her situation. “She one of yours?” She asked, and The Doctor shook his head in response.

“Never seen her before in my life,” He told her lightly, and Yvonne flashed him a bright and incredibly fake smile.

“Good! Then we can have her shot.”

Forcing himself to sit up, The Doctor’s expression hardened slightly. Yvonne was likely calling his bluff on this, but there was no way he’d put Rose at that kind of risk, and he didn’t take too kindly to having her threatened, though from what he could tell, Rose didn’t seem worried.

“Oh all right then, it was worth a try. That's... that's Rose Tyler.” The Doctor confessed, prompting Rose herself to speak up.

“ _Hello! Funny story, actually, it turns out everyone in Torchwood’s got psychic training_.” She offered, giving him a little wave, which he returned gladly. She held up the psychic paper, and he could see her tongue touched smile through the screen. “ _Bloody useless, it was_.”

“Weeeeell, again, it was well worth a try,” The Doctor admitted with a smile to her in return. He felt at ease just to see her and to know she was safe – plus she was in good spirits! Excellent, Molto bene, etc. Yvonne however, didn’t look amused, gesturing with her head to Jackie, who was stood behind him.

“Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's SHE?”

The Doctor looked back at Jackie, seeing the relief in her own face at seeing Rose was okay before she sat her jaw proudly.

“I'm her mother.” She informed Yvonne, and the Torchwood director flashed a look at The Doctor, finally looking amused at his brief grimace, as though he knew what was coming.

“Oh, you travel with her mother?”

“He kidnapped me.” Jackie informed her, and he heaved a quiet sigh – could she **stop** saying that? He didn’t go around kidnapping mothers, he had better things to do, and it wasn’t HIS fault she’d still been on the TARDIS!

“Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother...” The Doctor begged quietly, ignoring the offended look Jackie shot him, though he could see Rose fighting not to laugh on the screen in front of him.

“Charming.” Jackie hissed at him, and The Doctor finally looked back at her, ever the picture of innocence.

“I've got a reputation to uphold!”

Outside of Yvonne’s office, the whir of machines beginning to boot up could be heard, and The Doctor took note of the shock on Yvonne’s face as she stood, moving immediately to her door, frowning at everybody in the room.

“Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift!”

The Doctor followed her out of the room, his gaze focusing on three individuals in particular who seemed to be ignoring Yvonne, staring straight ahead at their computer screens. Everybody else seemed to be simply confused, unsure as to what was going on. Holding herself at full height, Yvonne continued to speak with authority, gesturing to the two levers which controlled the ghost shift, which seemed to be moving of their own accord. “Who started the program? But-- I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?! Step away from the monitors, everyone!” She ordered, and though most did as they were told, The Doctor noted the three he’d suspected were behind it continued to type rapidly.

“Gareth, Addy - stop what you're doing, RIGHT NOW.” Yvonne snapped, though there was now obvious panic in her voice as she turned to the other man, her voice turning desperate. “Matt. Step away from your desk. That's an order! Stop the levers!”

As two scientists rushed over to try to stop the levers before the ghost shift could be initiated, The Doctor’s focus instead was on the only woman amongst the three, his expression grim.

“What's SHE doing?” He murmured, moving over towards her, with both Yvonne and Jackie close behind him, the former begging the girl – Addy – to step away from the desk, though of course she ignored the order. The Doctor stared at her, clicking his fingers in front of her face to try to illicit a reaction, though he didn’t get one.

“She can't hear you.” He finally offered as Yvonne continued her desperate attempts, focusing on the computer screen. “They're overriding the system.” He looked up at the large blank wall in front of them, feeling a sickening twisting in his gut. “We're going into Ghost Shift.”

* * *

As The Doctor disappeared from the screen, and she could hear some kind of commotion on the other side, Rose’s smile instantly faded. She stood up, pulling off her lab coat, and threw it to the side. Rajesh didn’t notice, too concerned about what was happening on the upper floors. She caught Mickey’s eye though, and the look on his face indicated he too knew something big was going to happen very soon.

“Yvonne, I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was cancelled?” Rajesh called out, trying to get her attention, but he got no reply, and Rose tried to steel herself. They were coming. She walked over towards the void ship, standing in front of the staircase leading up towards it with her hands clenched into tight fists.

“C’mon then, Daleks, show me what you’ve got,” Rose murmured, and as if on cue, the sphere shuddered, the shockwave sending tremors through the entire room. Mickey and Rajesh rushed up to join her, staring up at the ship in shock as it shuddered again, a sound like a crash echoing from within it.

“It’s active…” Rajesh whispered from beside her, his voice filled with awe.

Another tremor rocked the room, and Rajesh turned on his heel to run towards his computer, calling for Yvonne as he checked all of the stats regarding the sphere. Rose tuned him out, not needing to know the specifics – it was active, and they were coming, so that was all she needed to know. Behind them, the door sealed itself shut, and Mickey spoke, his voice sending waves of calm through the tension held taut in her body.

“It's all right, babe. We beat them before, we can beat them again. That's why I'm here. The fight goes on.” He sounded so sure of himself, Rose wanted to smile, but she couldn’t force her muscles to co-operate. Instead, she shook her head.

“It’s not what you think, Mick.” She breathed, and Mickey looked at her, suddenly confused.

“What do I think?” He challenged, and Rose finally looked at him, her hand moving to grasp at his tightly, needing some kind of reassurance as she was forced to relay the worst day of her entire life. He squeezed her hand back, though the question didn’t leave his eyes.

“Cybermen,” Rose replied softly, and shook her head, turning back to the void ship with a vicious snarl on her lips. “But it’s not, not down here, at least. The Cybermen are gonna be everywhere else, up on the surface, but down here? We’ve got somethin’ worse. They broke through using the void ship and the Cybermen just followed.” She flashed him a smile now, taking some delight from the look of surprise on his face. “An’ so did you, yeah? It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Mickey replied, squeezing her hand once more, though he looked back at the ship, even more wary than he had been before. “How d’you know that, though? If there’s not some sort of Cyber leader in that ship, what is? What’s worse than Cybermen?”

Schooling her expression back into something serious, Rose linked her fingers between his, fixing the void ship with a look of utter hatred.

“ _Daleks_.”

* * *

Cybermen, of COURSE it was Cybermen!

The Ghost shift had reached one-hundred percent, and that meant they’d come through – all of them. Every single Cyberman created in the parallel universe had escaped into the void, waiting for their chance to full break through the cracks created in this universe. Torchwood had unwittingly given them the means to fully transfer through.

The three humans being controlled by the Cybermen; Adeola, Gareth and Matt were all dead, having been dead for some time, from what he could tell. The Cybermen used them, _controlled_ them into getting what they want, and now they had a whole new world to conquer, a world that had welcomed them with open arms without realising what they were letting in.

“These Zybermen - what've they got to do with the ghosts?” Jackie asked, evidently confused, and The Doctor scowled slightly. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with stupid questions, even if he DID like Jackie and enjoyed her company from time to time.

“Do you never listen?” He snapped. “A footprint doesn't look like a boot!” He peered into the light of the breach, one hand shielding his eyes

“ _Achieving full transfer_.” One of the Cybermen spoke, and The Doctor watched grimly as the ghosts marching from the light were able to revert to their full forms, stood in formation and ready for battle.

“They're Cybermen. All of the ghosts are Cybermen. Millions of them. Right across the world.”

“They're invading the whole planet.” Yvonne whispered, horrible realisation dawning upon her, and The Doctor shook his head.

“It's not an invasion, it's too late for that. It's a victory.”

Yvonne’s laptop began to beep rapidly, and The Doctor, Yvonne and Jackie all turned to stare at in surprise, though dread began to fill up his very being and seized his hearts at the automated voice that announced the status of the void ship.

_Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated. Sphere activated._

Rose.

Rose was down there with the void ship, the void ship that was activating and could contain unimaginable horror. He didn’t want to know what was inside, but he wanted Rose OUT of that chamber even more. He moved forward towards the Cyber Leader, fixing his glare and his anger upon it, needing to direct it somewhere. He needed to know what was inside so he could save her.

“What I don't understand is Cybermen don't have the technology to build the Void Ship, that's WAY beyond you. How did you create that sphere?” He demanded, and the Cyber Leader turned towards him mechanically.

“The sphere is not ours.” It responded, and all anger fell from The Doctor’s face, only to be replaced by utter shock.

“... What?” He asked, completely thrown by this turn of events. If the void ship didn’t belong to the Cybermen, then WHO did it belong to? Someone else had passed through the void to get here, and now, they were emerging, and he had no idea of their intent.

“The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds. We only followed.” The Cyber Leader reported. “Its origin is unknown.”

“Then what's inside it...?” The Doctor asked quietly, more to himself than to anyone else, but Jackie stepped forward to stare at him, fear in every inch of her face, and her words only served to remind him just what he could lose if he didn’t find a way to the sphere chamber.

“Rose is down there!”

* * *

“I thought you said the Daleks were all dead?” Mickey turned to Rose in disbelief, recalling the story she’d told him at Christmas. She hadn’t been able to tell him all of the details, she’d said it was foggy in her mind, but the Daleks were gone, she’d said that much.

“They’re like roaches, Mick, they can survive anythin’. They always find a way.” Rose replied quietly, and behind them, the Rajesh was still trying to contact someone to get some kind of message across, but nothing seemed to be transmitting.

“Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here!” He begged, fingers typing desperately at the keyboard.

Another violent _BOOM_ rocked the chamber, nearly knocking the three of them off of their feet, though they all seemed to recover quickly. Rajesh, abandoning his attempts to find help, quickly joined Mickey and Rose, staring up at the ship as it finally stopped vibrating. Slowly, it began to open, the metal casing peeling back to reveal a bright light from within.

Letting go of Rose’s hand to pull off his lab coat and earpiece, Mickey tossed them to the side, looking determined. If Rose was right, then his weapon might not be of any use, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

“Daleks or Cybermen, it don’t matter, they’ll get what’s comin’ to ‘em.” Mickey moved over towards where he’d stashed his gun, pulling it out and hefting it into his arms. Rose watched him, her expression considerably softer despite the tension radiating from everybody in the room. Before she’d had John, when she was just so focused on finding a way back to The Doctor, Mickey had kept her going, given her hope when she felt like she was losing it, and kept her grounded.

This Mickey would never know just how much she owed him, or how important he was to her, and not for the first time, she felt a stab of regret for how she’d treated him in the past. He’d always deserved better.

“This is gonna blast ‘em to Hell.” Mickey smiled grimly, holding up the gun to the ship, ignoring the flabbergasted look on Rajesh’s face.

“Samuel, what are you doing?!” The scientist demanded, and Mickey simply smirked to begin with, shooting a look at Rose, who grinned back, though the expression lacked mirth and looked more like a grimace.

“The name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth.” He told him simply, and lifted the weapon once more. Admittedly, Rose did feel more reassured that Mickey had it, knowing first hand just how much damage a preacher gun could do to a Dalek. If things ran off course from here, it would help to have it.

As the ship’s ‘door’ fully opened, Rose steeled herself as they came. Four Daleks rose from the ship, two of them carrying the genesis ark between them, and Rose stood her ground as Mickey and Rajesh stumbled back in shock. She swallowed thickly as Dalek Sec focused his eyestalk upon her, and the voice that had haunted her nightmares echoed around her, gluing her to the spot.

“ _Location: Earth. Life forms detected. Exterminate_!”

The other Daleks joined in with his chant, their voices merging together, reaching a crescendo that could only be compared to screaming as they fixated on the humans before them.

“ _Exterminate! Exterminate!_ **EXTERMINATE**!”


	7. Doomsday Part One

The furious cries of ‘ **EXTERMINATE** ’ from the members of the cult of Skaro assaulted Rose’s ears, making her head ring and her hands tremble, though they shook from anger, rather than fear. Mickey reached out behind her, gripping the cuff of her jacket to try to pull her back, but Rose yanked her arm out of his grip, focusing a glare on the aliens in front of her.

“DALEKS!”

The shout left her lips in a sudden rush, and the Daleks froze in response, all four eyestalks focused on her. A grim smile soon formed, and she stared them down, her body taut with tension and uncertainty. Daleks were predictable in their desire to kill everyone who _wasn’t_ a Dalek, but she couldn’t count on them to follow the ‘script’ – as she’d been calling it. Until now, other than the things she’d said differently, everything seemed to be going the way it had in her alternate timeline. When it came to the Daleks, however, she knew she _needed_ to be careful.

“You're called 'Daleks',” Rose clarified, taking some pleasure in the fact that if Daleks could feel emotions, these ones would be ‘uneasy’. “I know your name. Think about it - how can I know that? A Human who knows about the Daleks.” Rose smiled slyly. “Who knows about the _Time War_. If you wanna get anything out of me, you’ve gotta keep us alive. ALL of us.” She gestured to the two men beside her.

“Yeah, Daleks. Time War. Me too.” Mickey piped up, seeming to understand where she was going with this. Rajesh offered his own confirmation, and the Dalek in charge – Sec, she recalled – considered them for a moment.

“ **YOU WILL BE NECESSARY**.” It finally decided, before it turned back to the other Daleks, and Rose let out a long breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding, feeling Mickey’s arm wrap around her lightly to keep her from stumbling as Sec spoke once more. “ **REPORT – WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE GENESIS ARK**?”

“ **STATUS – HIBERNATION**.” Another Dalek offered in response, and Sec inched towards the Ark, what Rose knew to be the Dalek prison, and she grimaced slightly.

“ **COMMENCE AWAKENING**.” Sec ordered, and the Dalek who had spoken previously rolled forward, its suction arm clamping to the side of the prison, and though Rose knew it would need to open, she felt a wave of nausea roll through her. So many people were going to die, and she couldn’t stop it.

“ **THE GENESIS ARK MUST BE PROTECTED ABOVE ALL ELSE.”** It announced, and Mickey inched closer to Rose, his gun still pointed to the metal monstrosities in front of them, making sure to never take his eyes off of them.

“Looks like you were right about the Daleks, but how’d you know?” He asked quietly, and Rose shook her head, looking grim.

“Doesn’t matter, the more important question is, what the hell is a Genesis Ark?” She pointed out, though she already knew the answer, watching the aliens with disdain on her face. She needed Mickey to think of the bigger picture here, and maybe, if she helped The Doctor figure things out sooner, more lives could be saved… somehow.

The Daleks continued to prime the Ark for unlocking, and Rose slipped her phone out of her pocket as stealthily as she was able, holding it behind her back as she waited for The Doctor to call her, as she knew he would.

* * *

Leaning against the wall, anxiety welled up inside The Doctor as he watched the Cybermen mobilize. His expression was hard as he tried to steer his thoughts away from Rose and what could possibly be happening to her down with the void ship. He couldn’t think of what if’s, he just needed to get her out of there. Unfortunately, Jackie’s worry couldn’t be so easily put to the back of her mind, and he knew it.

“What's down there?” She demanded, looking to The Doctor with desperation in her eyes, needing some kind of reassurance he wasn’t positive he could give to her. “She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?”

Jackie’s worries were only causing his own to skyrocket, and he only managed to bite out a sharp “I don't know!” before regretting it instantly as Jackie covered her mouth and began to cry, already fearing the worst.

“I'll find her.” He swore quietly as Jackie tried to calm herself down, though she kept her eyes on the ground. “I brought you here, but I'll get you both out, you **and** your daughter. Jackie, look at me. _Look at me_.” He urged, and she finally did, peering at him with frightened blue eyes. “I _promise_ you. I give you my word.”

Finally, Jackie nodded, and the two of them turned as the Cyber leader began to broadcast a message to the population of the world, and his expression darkened once more as he pulled a pair of 3D glasses from his suit pocket and slipped them on over his nose.

“ **This broadcast is for human kind. Cybermen now occupy every land mass on this planet. But you need not fear. Cybermen will remove fear. Cybermen will remove sex and class and colour and creed. You will become identical. You will become like us**.” The Cyber leader informed humanity, and The Doctor bit back a scoff, moving over to one of the huge windows overlooking the city.

It was utter chaos.

People ran and screamed as they were chased by the marching Cybermen, whilst soldiers continued to fire, trying to protect both themselves and the people around them. It was obvious that no-one was giving up, and the fires and explosions below only served to prove that.

“ **I ordered surrender**.” The Cyber leader noted, and could they feel emotions, The Doctor would wager it would feel pretty frustrated right about now. Instead, he turned back, whipping off his 3D glasses and glaring.

“They're not taking instructions,” He spat, shaking his head. “Don't you understand? You're on every street - you're in their homes, you've got their **children**! Of course they're gonna fight!”

The Cyber leader considered his words briefly, before it turned and marched towards the other Cybermen in the room. The Doctor glared over its shoulder, though his old worries quickly returned at its next words.

“ **Scans detect unknown technology active within sphere chamber. Units 10 65 and 10 66 will investigate sphere chamber.”** It ordered, and the two Cybermen in question were quick to respond.

“ **We obey.”** They called before they turned and left the rift chamber, The Doctor running his hands through his hair in a show of desperation.

* * *

“ **WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPORTANT?”** Sec’s voice cut through the pounding in Rose’s head, and her set her jaw, glaring at him in frustration. If she wasn’t careful, then she’d be unable to help Rajesh, and his death had been so needless. She needed to _try_.

“We’re all equally important!” She snapped, and Sec’s eyestalk roved over towards her. “We don’t _decide_ importance, that’s not what we do, ‘sides, I told you. You keep all of us alive or I don’t do anythin’ for you.”

“ **DESIGNATE THE LEAST IMPORTANT!”** Sec commanded once more, and Rose hissed slightly, every single one of her nerves on edge. Her vulnerability in the situation was driving her crazy, and it didn’t help when Rajesh stepped forward.

“This is my responsibility.” He said firmly, and Rose lunged, grasping his arm to try and pull him back, shaking her head frantically.

“Don’t, they’ll kill you,” Rose begged, and Rajesh hesitated for a second, looking at the clear panic in her eyes, before he carefully shrugged himself out of her grasp and stepped in front of Sec, adjusting his glasses nervously.

“I er - I represent the Torchwood Institute.” He began, obviously nervous. “Anything you need, you... come through me. Leave these two alone.”

Rose felt her heart ache for the scientist who she didn’t know, but had essentially sacrificed himself in order to save them. She knew it was too late for him now; there was nothing she could do. He’d designated himself as the least important, and he’d signed his own death sentence. She gripped Mickey’s arm to stop him from jumping at the Daleks when they killed Rajesh, and buried her face into his sleeve, unable to look.

His desperate begging to be spared broke her heart, and when he began to scream, she closed her eyes tightly, feeling how Mickey immediately tensed as though he wanted to jump into battle, but he couldn’t, she wouldn’t lose him too, not like this.

“Don’t,” She whispered urgently, looking up at him, and he stilled, though she could tell he didn’t like feeling useless. She understood that far too well. She had the knowledge of foresight (or was it technically hindsight?) and for moments like this, she still felt like there was nothing she could do. Fear seized her heart in an iron grip, and she wondered if this was even POSSIBLE. Could she change the timeline? Could she really fix this? No – She had to. She couldn’t afford to doubt herself.

Reluctantly, she looked back at the Daleks, her eyes avoiding what she knew to be Rajesh’s charred skeleton on the ground, fixing her gaze on one of the species in the world she hated more than anything else.

“ **HIS MIND SPOKE OF A SECOND SPECIES INVADING EARTH AFFECTED BY THE SUPERSTITION OF GHOSTS**.” Sec relayed to the others, and Rose couldn’t hold back her anger, eyes blazing.

“You didn't need to KILL him!”

“ **NEITHER DID WE NEED HIM ALIVE**.” Another Dalek shot back at her, and Rose couldn’t help but seethe. Typical Daleks - God, she couldn’t wait until they were sucked into the void, except for that one – _Caan_. Somehow he escaped, and he’d be responsible for the stars going out. Her eyes narrowed slightly. Damn, she had to worry about that now, too.

“ **DALEK THAY, INVESTIGATE OUTSIDE.”** Sec commanded, and Thay obeyed at once with a cry of affirmation before he began to roll out of the chamber, and Rose watched with a grimace. She just wanted to be back with The Doctor, where she felt safe.

The storm was coming, it was almost time.

* * *

The Doctor had trying to console himself with the fact that things couldn’t quite get any worse than they already had. It wasn’t much of a consolation, considering the planet was under the control of Cybermen, and hundreds of innocent people were dying as he stood there, helpless to do anything, but it was a consolation nonetheless.

He had just realised, though, as he stared at Yvonne Hartman’s laptop screen as a visual link with the exploring Cybermen was established, that things were far worse than he could ever have imagined.

His eyes were glued to the Dalek on the screen with a growing sense of horror rising inside of him, unable to believe just how bad their luck was. The Daleks had come through first, and the Cybermen had followed. Rose was down there with the sphere. He’d almost lost her to the Daleks twice, and she had gotten lucky both times – could she be lucky again?

The Daleks and Cybermen were arguing with one another on the screen, though The Doctor wasn’t listening, his mind a whirl. He needed to get in contact with Rose.

“Rose said about the Daleks, she was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?” Jackie’s voice cut through the storm in his mind, and he turned to her abruptly, speaking through his teeth so the Cyber leader wouldn’t hear him.

“ _Phone_ ,” He hissed, and Jackie’s eyes widened slightly, before she dug in her pocket and pulled out her mobile. Passing it to him, The Doctor wasted no time in finding Rose’s number and called it, desperately hoping that she’d answer. When she did, his hearts leapt, though he couldn’t hear her voice, knowing she’d picked up was more than enough. “She's answered, she's alive.” He assured Jackie, and she covered her mouth in relief.

But why was she still alive? Why were they _keeping_ her alive? Daleks didn’t keep people alive unless they had a reason for it.

“Why haven't they killed her?” He murmured, and Jackie let out a scoff.

“Well, don't complain!” She snapped, and The Doctor shook his head.

“They must need her for something.” He surmised, and continued to listen. He could hear more Daleks in the room where Rose was, and he focused, trying to pay attention to what they were saying.

“ _ **WE MUST PROTECT THE GENESIS ARK.”**_

“Genesis Ark?” The Doctor repeated, frowning slightly – What in the universe was a Genesis Ark, and why was it so important to the Daleks? He listened attentively to the Cybermen try to strike up an alliance, and almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. The Daleks and the Cybermen? That was a match made in hell.

Of course, the Dalek’s refused, and as the Cybermen declared war on them, The Doctor’s mind began to whirl, thinking up an idea. He could use this to his advantage. He moved slightly behind the Cyber leader, wanting both Rose and the Dalek’s to see him, to know that he was coming. His connection with Rose cut off as the transmission ended, and he handed the phone back to Jackie.

“Lost her,” He said simply, and Jackie stared at him with wide, worried eyes.

“ **Quarantine the Sphere Chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel.”** The Cyber leader instructed, and several Cybermen strode forward to grasp hold of Yvonne, Jackie and The Doctor.

“No, you can't do this! We surrendered! We **surrendered**!” Yvonne shouted, struggling desperately as the Cybermen began to drag her away. Jackie too was desperately screaming and fighting, trying to get away as she shouted after The Doctor.

“YOU PROMISED ME! YOU GAVE ME YOUR WORD!”

“ **This one's increased adrenaline suggests he has vital Dalek information.”** The Cyber leader noted of The Doctor, though he too continued to fight and struggle, watching Jackie with a growing amount of horror. Not her, no, he couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t let Rose lose all she had left.

“NO, LET HER GO, JUST LEAVE HER ALONE!” The Doctor shouted after her, fighting to be free of the Cybermen’s grip as Jackie was dragged out of sight. “JACKIE! I’LL THINK OF SOMETHING!”

The sound of her screaming soon faded into silence, and The Doctor felt a terrible stillness wash over him, staring at the doorway in utter silence as he was released. A Cyberman moved to block the entrance, and he knew for now, at least, he was trapped.

Jackie Tyler was a formidable woman, and he could only hope that she found a way to survive, to escape and hide until he had the chance to come and find her. Turning, The Doctor walked into Yvonne’s office to stare at the carnage outside in the city, and he closed his eyes slowly, moving to sit down.

The only real solution he could think of thus far would be to reverse the effects of the breach. The Cybermen were all steeped in void stuff, meaning they’d be sucked into it, and if he could hazard a guess, then the Daleks would be covered in it too, void ship or not. First, he needed to get everybody together and he needed to make sure everyone would be safe. It wouldn’t do to have Rose get sucked into the void, after all. He needed to figure out how to keep her and Jackie alive.

“ **You are proof**.”

The Cyber leader’s voice prompted The Doctor to look up at it, eyebrows lifting in response.

“Of what?” He asked, somewhat bemused.

“ **That emotions destroy you**.”

Ah, well, wasn’t that just the truth? “Yeah, I am,” The Doctor agreed lightly, before behind the Cyberman, he could see a glimmer, a sign of something that _shouldn’t_ exist, before slowly, he smiled. “Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion, and here it comes.”

The Cyber leader turned to follow The Doctor’s gaze, and as it did, a group of people dressed all in black appeared from thin air, all holding guns aloft. Thinking quickly, The Doctor dove out of sight as the sounds of gunfire echoed in the room. He had no idea who they were or what was happening, but if this gave him a chance to get out and find Rose and Jackie, then he wouldn’t complain.

He stood as the firing ceased, staring around him at the dead Cybermen, before his gaze locked on the leader of the group.

“Doctor - good to see you again.” He said, and pulled off his helmet, revealing someone The Doctor never expected to see again in his lifetime, and his eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

“Jake?!”

Jake grinned at him, obviously pleased that he’d been able to surprise him as well as he had.

“The Cybermen came through from one world to another - and so did we,” Jake told him, and The Doctor slowly shook his head. Oh no, oh, this was bad. Jake began to shout out orders to his team, directing them on what to do next, while The Doctor slipped on his 3D glasses, grimacing at the sight of the void stuff that hovered around the entire group.

“You can't just-- just-- just HOP from one world to another. You CAN'T.” The Doctor insisted, and Jake smiled.

“We just did. With these.” He threw some kind of yellow button on a chain over to him, and The Doctor peered down at it, bemused.

“But that's impossible. You can't have this sort of technology.”

“We've got our own version of Torchwood,” Jake explained, lifting his hand towards the button on his chest. “They developed it. Do you wanna come and see?”

“NO!” The Doctor shouted, realising what was about to happen. Jake had already pushed the button, however, forcefully dragging him from his world to another, leaving an empty room in their wake.

* * *

For just a moment, as the call with the Cybermen ended, Rose could see The Doctor move into frame, and her heart soared, smile stretching wide as the Dalek’s enhanced the image. He’d be coming for her soon, she just needed to be patient and trust in her Doctor, as she always did.

“ **THE FEMALE’S HEARTBEAT HAS INCREASED**.” Sec noted as he turned to face Rose, and Mickey rolled his eyes with a smile.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” He agreed, and Rose could only smile as Sec demanded she identify just who it was. Oh, she LOVED this part, the way she could see the fear in them just at the mention of his name.

“ **IDENTIFY HIM!”** Sec demanded.

“All right then, if you really wanna know... that's The Doctor.” Rose watched with a smirk as they all rolled backwards slightly in response, and she lifted her eyebrows slowly. “Five million Cybermen? Easy. One Doctor? NOW you're scared.”

Dalek Thay returned to the room at that moment, and Rose could only watch as he instructed the others to only concentrate on the Genesis Ark, deeming the Cybermen irrelevant. Mickey moved closer to her, clearly still confused, though she couldn’t blame him. None of this had made sense to her the first time around, either.

“Why are we being kept alive?” He asked, and Rose kept her gaze on the Daleks.

“They need us to open the Genesis Ark, we’re the final key,” Rose admitted, and Mickey looked at her quickly. “When you travel through time, you pick up harmless background radiation from travelling through the vortex. The first time I met a Dalek, it was powerless, but I touched it and brought it back to life.” She hastened to explain. “It was the background radiation I’d soaked up – Artron Energy. During the Time War, the Daleks evolved and learned how to use it as a power source. The Genesis Ark needs the touch of a Time Traveller to open, and we’ve both been through the vortex.”

“I love it when you talk technical,” Mickey offered in response, and she rolled her eyes with a fond smile.

“Shut up,” She sighed, lightly elbowing him in the side, and Mickey looked down at his dimension hopper, eyebrows furrowed.

“I could transport out of here, but it only carries one and I'm not leaving you.” He admitted, and Rose’s expression softened considerably as she took his hand, love for Mickey swelling through her – her best friend who had saved her from losing herself after Jimmy, who’d helped her save the world, had saved the world HIMSELF, who’d grew up so much since they’d first met.

“You'd follow me anywhere,” She noted softly. “What did I do to you all those years ago?”

“Guess I'm just stupid,” Mickey shrugged, and Rose shook her head, squeezing his hand gently.

“You're the bravest man I've ever met, Micks.” She told him sincerely, and his eyebrows lifted.

“What about the Doctor?” He asked and Rose let out a light, dramatic sigh.

“Oh, all right, bravest _human_ ,” She amended, and they smiled at each other. “I’m really proud of you,” She told him softly, pressing a soft kiss to the back of his hand. “You’ve done amazin’ things, and I know you’ll do so much more.” She murmured, and Mickey smiled faintly.

“Don’t sweet talk me too much, babe,” he joked, before they both looked back at the Daleks and the Genesis Ark. “I can’t figure it out, though. Why would they build something they can't open themselves?”

“ **THE TECHNOLOGY IS STOLEN. THE ARK IS NOT OF DALEK DESIGN.”** Sec interjected, slowly turning to face them. Rose simply glared at the Dalek leader, prompting Mickey to ask another question in response.

“Who built it then?”

“ **THE TIME LORDS. THIS IS ALL THAT SURVIVES OF THEIR HOMEWORLD**.”

“So what’s inside?” Rose asked, folding her arms.

“ **THE FUTURE.”** Sec responded, before Caan interjected, and the other Daleks drew back from the Ark, having done all they could.

“ **FINAL STAGE OF AWAKENING**.”

Turning to Rose, Sec drew closer to her, though she didn’t flinch back, choosing to simply glare at him. ” **YOUR HANDPRINT WILL OPEN THE ARK**.” He ordered, and Rose shook her head.

“Not a chance,” She shot back.

“ **OBEY OR THE MALE WILL DIE**.” Sec threatened, and Rose scowled, reluctantly moving forward towards the Ark. What had The Doctor said the first time round? If Mickey hadn’t opened it, the Daleks would have blown up the sun to do so? The Ark had to open, but Rose wouldn’t do it without a fight.

“Rose, don’t do it!” Mickey shouted from behind her, and Rose shot him a sad smile over her shoulder.

“I can’t let them kill you,” She said simply, shaking her head.

“ **PLACE YOUR HAND UPON THE CASKET**.” Rose turned back to Sec, her eyes glinting, before she moved to stand in front of him.

“You escaped the Time War, yeah? Don’t you wanna know what happened? What happened to the Emperor?” She goaded, leaning forward slightly. She’d said this on a whim last time, her memories of the Gamestation hazed with a golden fog that had slowly cleared over time. She could remember bits and pieces before, but now, it was far clearer than it had ever been.

“ **THE EMPEROR SURVIVED.”** Sec informed her, and Rose’s grin only grew wider.

“Yeah, 'Til he met me... 'cos if these are gonna be my last words, then you're gonna **listen**. I met the Emperor. And I took the Time Vortex and I pulled it into his head and turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks... and I destroyed him. HAH!” She let out a loud laugh in Sec’s face, able to feel their surprise, their shock and finally, their anger.

“ **YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!”**

Sec’s fury only caused Rose to laugh once more, and she stepped back away from him, opening up her arms as an invitation, ignoring Mickey’s shout from behind her. Taunting the Daleks wasn’t smart, it would NEVER be smart, but it didn’t matter, not this time, because this was where The Doctor came in.


	8. Doomsday Part Two

Things were finally beginning to fall into place.

The Doctor knew he’d be able to turn the Daleks and Cybermen against each other, and with the support of Pete’s Torchwood, he figured it would be time for the humans and the Cybermen to create the one of the shortest alliances there was. Once Pete Tyler had _graciously_ allowed him to return to his own universe, The Doctor made sure to check Jackie was alive and safe.

It was probably one of the only times he’d EVER been glad to hear Jackie Tyler’s voice.

He’d been trying to convince Pete to give this world’s Jackie a chance for a few reasons. He liked Jackie, he did, (despite how much grief he gave her) and he knew that she loved Pete more than she could ever love anybody else. They were meant for each other. Mostly, though, he was fully aware that if his plan to get rid of the Daleks and Cybermen was to work, then Rose would **need** to go to the parallel world with the others, to be safe. Jackie wasn’t in danger from being pulled in, she’d never gone through the void; but while he was fully expecting to be separated from Rose forever, he wanted her to still have Jackie.

If it went well, then she’d have both her parents, together and happy.

They could be a family.

Pete was steadfastly rebuffing his attempts, of course, but The Doctor was certain those walls would break down when the two of them came face to face. First, though, he needed to find Rose and Jackie and keep them alive for his plan to come to fruition.

He’d been able to open up the bonding chamber on Jake’s gun, enabling it effective to work on Polycarbide – the skin of a Dalek. While it wouldn’t _destroy_ Daleks, it would render their firing power useless for a short amount of time which frankly, was all he needed.

Sticking a sheet of paper to a stick, and holding it around the corner, The Doctor was quick to step out, onto a new corridor, the Cybermen he’d been targeting turning immediately as they sensed his presence.

“No white flag. I only had a sheet of A4. Same difference.” The Doctor confessed as he walked towards them, an easy grin playing on his lips. The Cybermen straightened, holding their fists out towards him to shoot, doubtful of his intentions.

“ **Do you surrender?”** One of them demanded to know.

The Doctor continued to move forward until he and the Cyberman were face to face, staring unflinchingly into its cold black eyes. “I surrender unto you.” He paused, his grin growing even broader. “A very good idea.”

“ **Explain yourself.”** The Cyberman ordered, and The Doctor rocked back lightly on his heels, dropping the piece of A4 to the floor in favour of slipping his hands into his pockets.

“You want to get rid of the Daleks, you know they’re your biggest threat right now,” The Doctor pointed out, observing the small group. “I can get you into the sphere chamber, and I can give you weapons that will work on the Daleks. Your technology isn’t advanced enough to come close to penetrating them. Nah, they’re way beyond you! But, with a bit of HELP, you might stand a chance.” The Doctor gestured with a hand, and Pete, Jake and the other preachers eased around the corner, none of them looking entirely happy with the situation.

Bah, they just couldn’t see the big picture!

The Cybermen considered him for a moment, before the leader spoke once more, and The Doctor smiled, already knowing the answer. The Cybermen were certainly a proud race, but NOT above alliances when it came down to their best interests, and he knew it.

“ **You will assist us in disposing of the Dalek vermin, and then you will be upgraded**!” It announced, and The Doctor tugged on his earlobe lightly.

“ _Well,_ when you put it like that… How can I resist?” He strode forward, gesturing for the others to follow him, and they did so, the Cybermen in close pursuit.

When they came to the sphere chamber, The Doctor was quick to explain his plan, determined to go inside by himself first, to make sure Rose (and he assumed Mickey) could get out of there safely before guns started to fire. It was also his chance to see this Genesis Ark he’d heard the Daleks speak of, and hopefully he could figure out just _what_ they were trying to do.

Within the room, he could hear Rose’s voice, taunting the Daleks about the Emperor, about what she’d done on the Gamestation, and alarm bells began to ring in his mind. She shouldn’t be able to remember that- **ANY** of that. He heard the Dalek’s furious cry of extermination, and knew he didn’t have time to dwell on it now. He pulled on his 3D glasses and pointed his sonic at the lock, prompting the door to open up in a flourish.

“Oh now, hold on, wait a minute.” He interrupted, sauntering inside. His eyes locked onto Rose immediately, trying to make sure she was safe. She was beaming at him, her arms lightly outstretched as though she’d been WELCOMING the Dalek’s death ray. Ah, now, they’d need to have a little chat about that.

“ **ALERT! ALERT! YOU ARE THE DOCTOR**!” Sec and the other Daleks swivelled to look at him, and he smiled pleasantly, noting that they were indeed soaked in void stuff, just as he’d suspected.

“ **SENSORS REPORT HE IS UNARMED.”** Another Dalek noted, and The Doctor’s smile bloomed into a grin as he stood beside Rose and – Mickey! There he was. Brilliant!

“That's me, always,” He confirmed, before his gaze roamed over towards Rose once more.

“THEN YOU ARE POWERLESS,” Sec surmised, and The Doctor resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Typical Dalek mindset.

“Not me,” He said, pulling off the glasses in order to slip them into his pocket. “Never.” He had a plan, after all, but kept his eyes fixed on Rose. ”How are you?”

“Oh, same old, you know,” Rose said dismissively, her tongue touching her teeth in his favourite smile, and he grinned back at her, pleased.

“Good!” He turned towards Mickey, darting forward in order to knock his fist together with the other man. “Mickity-McMickey! Nice to see you!”

“And you, boss.” Mickey offered with a returning smile.

“ **SOCIAL INTERACTION WILL CEASE**!” Jast ordered, eyestalk swinging to look at the three of them, though Sec focused solely on the Doctor.

“ **HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THE TIME WAR?”** Sec asked, and The Doctor’s expression hardened.

“By fighting on the front line,” He told them quietly, trying to supress those awful memories before they tried to consume him. He couldn’t afford to lose himself now. “I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that. But you lot ran away!” He focused his glare on them.

“ **WE HAD TO SURVIVE.”** Sec responded, and The Doctor lifted his eyebrows slightly.

“The last four Daleks in existence,” He noted. “So what's so special about YOU?”

“Doctor,” Rose piped up next to him, and he looked at her quickly. “They’ve got names, and they said they’re the Cult of Skaro,” Mickey looked sharply at her, and Rose bit back a curse. They’d never said that, had they? She needed to be more careful.

The Doctor’s eyes widened in some surprise, and he turned back to the Daleks as they introduced themselves. Sec, Thay, Jast and Caan, the most clever Daleks in all of existence.

“I thought you were just a legend,” He mused, before glancing back at Rose and Mickey, explaining for their benefit. “They’re a secret order above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine, to think as the enemy thinks. They even dared to have names, all to find new ways of killing.” His voice quickly turned scathing, obviously disdainful of the cult and all they stood for.

“But that thing,” Mickey said, gesturing to what The Doctor could only assume to be the ‘Genesis Ark’. “They said it was yours. I mean, Time Lords. They built it. What does it do?”

“I don't know,” The Doctor confessed, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen it before.”

“Even the Time Lords had their secrets,” Rose seemed to guess, and The Doctor was inclined to agree.

“What is it? What have you done?” He asked the Daleks sharply.

“ **TIME LORD SCIENCE WILL RESTORE DALEK SUPREMACY**.” Sec replied, and The Doctor ground his teeth together in frustration and confusion.

“What does that mean? What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean?” He demanded, Rose’s voice pitching up beside him once more.

“They said one touch from a time traveller will wake it up,” She told him, and his smile turned somewhat sardonic.

“Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do.” He confirmed. “Touch. Sealed inside your casing, not feeling anything... ever... from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Completely alone, and that explains your voice. No wonder you scream.”

“ **THE DOCTOR WILL OPEN THE ARK!”** Sec ordered, and The Doctor let out a loud, contemptuous laugh in response.

“The Doctor will _not_ ,” He scoffed, moving back towards Rose and Mickey, hands moving into his pockets with ease.

“ **YOU HAVE NO WAY OF RESISTING.”** Sec pointed out, and The Doctor let out a seemingly thoughtful hum.

“ _Well..._ you got me there. Although... there is always this.” He smiled, drawing his sonic out of his pocket and holding it up.

“ **A SONIC PROBE?”**

“That's 'screwdriver',” The Doctor corrected, knowing Sec would dismiss it instantly. Classic Daleks, they could never see what was right in front of them.

“ **IT IS HARMLESS,”** Sec responded, and The Doctor slowly smiled, prompting Rose to do the same.

“Oh yes, harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do - it is VERY good at opening doors.” The Doctor turned, pointing the sonic back at the door before activating it. It blew inward, revealing Jake, his team and the Cybermen, all immediately beginning to fire.

The Doctor wrapped his arms tightly around Rose, pulling her down to the ground to avoid the chaos, as the Daleks immediately began to fire back, before the shots from Jake’s gun rendered their firing abilities near useless.

“Rose, get out!” The Doctor called as Mickey grabbed his own gun, beginning to fire it. Rose nodded, scrambling to her feet as she ran for the door, only to stumble and almost fall. An arm wound around her, helping her to stand, and though she knew who it would be, Rose’s breath caught as she locked eyes with her father.

She forced herself to look away, ignoring the urge to throw her arms around him as The Doctor reached her side.

“Mickey, come on!” Rose called out, and he and Jake began to edge towards them. Rose flinched as Mickey stumbled, his hand pressing firmly against the Genesis Ark, though there was nothing she could have changed here. He and Jake ran quickly to the exit, just in time, as The Doctor sealed the doors shut, locking The Daleks and Cybermen in together.

“Jake, check the stairwell!” The Doctor instructed; his hand gripping Rose’s tightly. “The rest of you, come on!” He ordered, and they began to run. Mickey was staring at the burn on his hand with a grimace as they rushed down a corridor.

“I just fell, I didn't mean it!” He blurted out, directing his apology to The Doctor, who simply shook his head.

“Mickey, without us, they'd have opened it by force. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour!” He flashed a cheery grin in Mickey’s direction before he pressed a kiss to the top of his head, prompting Rose to let out a laugh. He grinned broadly back at her, despite the worry knotting in his stomach. “Now, run!”

* * *

“ **You will be upgraded**.”

“No, but you can't! _Please_ —“

As the group rushed along the corridor, Rose felt her heart jump into her mouth at the sound of her mother’s terrified voice. It had never quite sunk in just how close her mum had been to dying in this battle until now, and the sudden jolt of realisation almost forced her to rip Mickey’s gun out of his hand and shoot the Cybermen herself.

Pete, however, beat her to it, lifting his gun and destroying the two Cybermen threatening her mum almost instinctively. Jackie looked at the group in obvious relief, squinting through the smoke before she saw him. Her breath caught, and she managed to choke out only one word.

“Pete?”

Rose moved closer to The Doctor, her hand holding onto his tightly, and he looked at her, seeing her eyes beginning to shine. This was it, the beginning of her mother’s happy ending, and knowing what she knew, just HOW happy Jackie would be, how much better her life would be – it caused her smile to stretch wide, trying to force back her tears.

“Hello, Jacks,” Pete offered quietly in response, unable to tear his gaze from her, and Jackie’s voice broke.

“I said there were ghosts, but that's not _fair._ Why him?”

“I'm not a ghost,” Pete tried to explain, and Jackie shook her head.

“But you're dead. You died twenty years ago, Pete.” She insisted, and The Doctor cleared his throat to try to offer an explanation, though his hand stayed firmly in Rose’s hold.

“It's Pete from a different Universe.” He said by way of explanation. “There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where—“

“Oh, you can shut up,” Jackie snapped, dismissing him instantly. He fell silent, looking back at Rose with his eyebrows lifted. Rose could only grin weakly in response, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as her parents began to talk. She could see the hope and reluctance in the both of them, along with the desire for something new. As they both gave up on resisting and ran for each other, Rose wrapped her arms tightly around The Doctor, pressing her cheek to his chest, tears slipping freely from her eyes, though her smile stretched wide.

They deserved this chance.

* * *

Once The Doctor had retrieved a pair of magnaclamps from the factory floor, narrowly avoiding being shot by both Daleks and Cybermen alike, they had all retreated up to the top floor of Torchwood tower.

“Doctor,” Rose said quickly as they rushed out of the lift and towards the full length windows. “If the Genesis Ark was made with Time Lord Science, then maybe… It’s bigger on the inside? Like the TARDIS?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened in sudden realisation, and he dropped the clamps onto Yvonne’s desk before he ran to the window, palms pressed flat to the glass. The others quickly joined him, watching as the Genesis Ark spun in the air before it started to open, and Daleks began to pour out in a never ending stream.

“You were right, Rose. It’s a prison ship,” He murmured, throat suddenly dry, and Mickey looked at him sharply.

“How many?” He asked, and The Doctor shook his head as the Daleks above began to engage in warfare with the Cybermen below.

“Millions.”

The group on the top floor of Canary Wharf could only watch the destruction below in a stunned, horrified silence, though Rose’s gaze was hard, knowing the moment she feared most of all was at hand. What she did next could change the course of her life forever, and though distant, she could hear the song of the TARDIS echoing through her mind, encouraging her.

Pete turned away from the window, looking grim. “I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's gonna crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home. Jacks, take this.” He tossed one of the dimension hoppers to her, and though Jackie caught it, the mere thought that they were leaving seemed to shock her.

“But they're destroying the City!” She insisted, and Pete’s smile to her was fond, affectionate, even. Rose knew they’d have a fantastic life, a wonderful life, and her eyes filled with tears despite trying to hold herself together. She had to say goodbye soon.

“I'd forgotten you could argue,” Pete murmured, slipping the button around Jackie’s neck for her, and taking her face into his hands, expression turning serious. “It's not just London, it's the whole world, but there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?”

At the mention of his name, The Doctor turned, his 3D specs already on, and a manic grin on his face. This time, Rose could see right through his excitement, knew exactly what he was planning to do, and she swallowed thickly, unable to bear seeing him so chipper when she knew it was all false. He was still going to send her away, but this time, she would stay. She had to.

“Oh, I'm ready,” The Doctor was saying as he rushed over to a nearby computer. “I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood! Slam it down and close off both universes!” He announced, and Rose followed him, feeling as though she were working on auto-pilot.

“What about the Daleks and the Cybermen?” She asked quietly, and The Doctor straightened, looking at her with that huge, false smile she absolutely despised.

“They're part of the problem. And THAT makes them part of the solution. Oh yes!” He cheered, and Rose forced herself to smile back at him, before he laughed, gesturing to his glasses. “Well?! Isn't anyone gonna ask? What is it with the glasses?”

“What is it with the glasses?” Rose asked instantly, though she knew the answer. She could remember every single detail of this moment, of this exact conversation. She’d never forget it – how could she? Seven years had gone by and it was fresher than anything else, had seared itself onto her heart and mind.

“I can SEE!” The Doctor shouted buoyantly. “That's what! 'Cos we've got two separate worlds, but in-between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here! And you lot - one world to another, via the Void! Oh, I like that. Via the Void! Look!” He pressed the glasses onto Rose’s face, and she squinted slightly, seeing the expanse of void stuff that surrounded The Doctor as he darted around to help her see it. “I've been through it. Do you see? Void stuff!”

“It’s background radiation from going through the Void,” Rose noted, reaching out a hand instinctively to brush her fingers against the black particles, before she turned at his prompting to look at her family – Pete, Jackie, Mickey and Jake. They were _all_ her family, even though she didn’t know Jake as well in this timeline, it couldn’t stop her from loving him like a brother, and Pete would never love her the way he’d loved her before, and god, did that ache.

“The only one who hasn't been through the Void - your mother. First time she's looked normal in her life.” The Doctor pointed out, and Rose didn’t even bother to crack a smile as she stared at them, her lips trembling.

The Doctor could tell something was wrong with Rose – in moments like this, when everything seemed like it’d been won and their victory was guaranteed, his excitement would rub off on her and they would bounce off of each other in their joy. Instead however, as she turned back to him and pulled the 3D glasses from her face, her eyes were shining as though she were about to cry, and she stared at him with such a wounded expression, it ached.

Did she know what she would have to do…?

Shaking it off, The Doctor turned, fighting back his emotions in order to rush to the wall from which the breach originated, running his hands along it slowly. Even if she knew it or not, Rose would have to leave, and he would need to lose her.

The grief of the impending separation threatened to tear him apart but he forced himself to remain smiling, to keep the façade up. He couldn’t let himself show weakness, not like this, not in front of her. He wanted her to remember him how he was.

“The Daleks lived inside the Void.” He explained lightly. “They're bristling with it. Cybermen - all of them. I just open the Void - end of verse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside!”

“Pulling them all in,” Rose seemed to guess, and The Doctor flashed her a broad grin.

“Pulling them all in!” He agreed, his hearts clenching at the look on her face. She knew; there was no doubt in his mind that she knew. He forced himself to look away from her, to swallow the guilt before it consumed him completely.

“Sorry... what's-- what's the Void?” Mickey asked from behind him, utterly clueless, and The Doctor focused his attention on him, glad for the distraction.

“The dead space. Some people call it 'Hell'.” He explained, and Mickey grinned, slipping his dimension hopper on over his neck.

“So... you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell,” It was a statement, not a question, and he looked at Jake with a smirk. “Man, I told you he was good.”

“There’s just one problem,” Rose breathed, and all eyes except The Doctor’s roamed to her. She stared at him, the last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, her madman in a box, and she could feel tears slipping down her cheeks. The emotion of the day was beginning to wear on her, and she just wanted it to be over, to tell him everything. She wanted to BEG for him not to send her away, because though she knew she would come back, to be separated from him so forcefully and against her will right now would only break her heart. “If we stay here, then we get pulled in, don’t we Doctor?”

The Doctor finally looked at her, and she hated that look in his eyes, that look of defeat, that he’d already given her up. He opened his mouth, but she shook her head abruptly before he could speak.

“No, no, don’t you dare.” Rose whispered, taking a step forward, wiping her hand over her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, do you hear me? I’m stayin’ with YOU. You’re not sending me away, I won’t let you.”

“You have to,” The Doctor said simply, shaking his head, and Rose let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Sorry, what’s going on?” Jackie piped up from behind them, and though The Doctor went to speak, Rose beat him to it, eyes flashing with the old fire she’d been missing since they’d reached the rift chamber.

“The Doctor wants me to go with you lot to the parallel universe, to live my life on the slow path while he stays here. The breach’ll close and I’ll never see ‘im again,” She said flatly, disregarding that she HAD seen him again, just once before John. “Isn’t that right, Doctor?” She finally whispered, and he couldn’t meet her gaze as he strode past her.

“Wait, won’t you get sucked in too?” Mickey asked, confused. “You’re covered in that void stuff, right?”

The Doctor picked up one of the magnaclamps he’d left on Yvonne’s desk, forcing a bright smile onto his face. “That's why I’ve got these. I'll just have to hold on tight - I've been doing it all my life.”

“It’s not happening,” Rose snapped, trying to force the trembling in her arms to stop. She needed to be strong here, but now The Doctor wouldn’t even look at her again, and she could feel her resolve slipping. One way or another, she would lose someone today, but she couldn’t let it be him, not again.

“We haven't got time to argue,” Pete said sharply, walking towards the breach, the others following him. Rose turned against her better judgement, pulling her bag from around her neck to rest it simply on her shoulders, knowing what would happen soon enough. ”The plan works, we go in; you too. ALL of us.”

“I'm not leaving him,” Rose’s words were flat, but they rang with sheer determination, though when Jackie spoke, she was clearly angry.

“I'm not going without her!”

“Oh, my God, we're GOING.” Pete snapped back at her, and Jackie’s temper flared into life instantly, seething that the man she loved could even TRY to convince her to leave her daughter behind.

“I've had twenty years without you, so button it! I'm not leaving her.”

“Mum,” Rose’s words were firm as she gripped Jackie’s shoulders to turn her, her eyes shining with more tears she forced herself to hold back. “You need to go with him, and don’t argue, okay?” She interrupted, seeing her mother go to open her mouth. “I love you so much, but you’re right, I’ve changed, I’ve changed so much and it’s for the better, because The Doctor showed me who I could be. He’s taught me so much and done so much good, and I know that If you forced me to live there, I’d spend every single day of my life tryin’ to get back.” Her fingers closed around Jackie’s squeezing them tightly.

“You’ve watched me grow up, you’ve sacrificed so much for me, to raise me proper, but you can’t give this up. You’ve got a chance to be with dad, you’ve got a chance to be happy, to live a new, amazin’ life and you can’t give it up for me, I won’t let you. If you make me live there, I’ll change even more, but I won’t be me, not really.”

“How am I s’posed to live a life without you, sweetheart?” Jackie whispered, tears already slipping down her cheeks, and Rose’s lips trembled, though she smiled broadly.

“You’re Jackie Tyler. You’re my _ **mum**_ – you can do anythin’,” Slowly, she let go of Jackie’s hands, beginning to move backwards towards The Doctor, hating him for what he was going to do, for what he tried to force her into. “I can’t leave him on his own, and I can’t live without him.”

Rose closed her eyes as she felt The Doctor slip the button over her head, and she choked back a sob as she felt the pull that dragged her through dimensions, to a world she’d never wanted to see again. She forced her eyes open, but threw her bag over towards Jackie, who caught it instinctively, her eyes wide and terrified.

“I love you,” Rose told them simply. “ _All_ of you.”

Then, she pressed the button around her neck and disappeared once more.

* * *

The Doctor had known he’d lose Rose Tyler one day.

All of his companions left in the end, one way or another, they could never stay forever, and each of their losses cut deeply into his hearts, leavings scars so deep he doubted they’d ever heal. From his beloved Susan to his wildcard Ace, they all left him one way or another, be it by his hand, their own, or by death.

Rose wouldn’t be the first companion he’d sent away for their own good, to try to ensure they’d be given a better life, a life they truly deserved. Still, it didn’t stop the pain that tore through him as he heard everything she said about him to Jackie as she inched towards him, the love she held for him so clear in her voice.

It scared him, just how devoted she was to him, how she’d promised him forever when she couldn’t truly give it to him. It’d been inevitable, losing her, though the thought of never seeing her again tore him apart. After the war, he’d been so empty and so broken, but she’d given him hope, she’d given him a reason to be better.

_I’m sorry, Rose. I’m so, so sorry._

He pulled the Dimension Hopper Jake had given him out of his pocket, draping it around her neck, and watched as his pink and yellow girl was pulled away from him, through the void, where she was safe. He stared at the spot where she’d been for only a few seconds, his heart heavy before he turned to the closest computer and began to type, locking his pain away.

“Don’t you _ever_ do that to me again,”

He froze at the sound of her voice, his throat tight, and turned to stare at her, stood before him, her eyes blazing with anger. She held the chain of the hopper in her hand, but threw it to the side, far away from the two of them, and though his hearts sang at the sight of her, he strode quickly towards her and gripped her shoulders tightly.

“Once the breach collapses, that's IT. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!” He tried to make her understand, to help her see that he wouldn’t do this to her, he wouldn’t take her away from the only family she had left. Rose stared back at him without flinching, her eyes boring into his own and seeming to reach deep within him, before her hand rose to rest on his cheek. He froze at the contact, knowing she’d be able to feel the way he trembled underneath her fingertips, but he didn’t pull away. If this was the last time he’d see her, then…

“You don’t get to make those kind of choices for me, Doctor,” Rose said softly, slowly shaking her head. “You can’t keep sending me away, because I can’t bear it anymore. I promised you forever, and I don’t care how long my forever is, it’s yours,” Her other hand reached up to cup his cheek too, and he let out a shaky breath, instinctively leaning into her touch. “I’ve lived a life with my mum, and I’ll miss her, but living without _you_ would kill me,”

“Rose, you don’t-“ The Doctor began, but Rose sighed and pressed a finger to his lips, finally smiling at him, her eyes bright.

“I want you _safe_ , my Doctor,” She whispered, and his eyes widened, searching her own for some kind of hint of gold, some remnant from the Time Vortex, of Bad Wolf, but he saw nothing, nothing but his brilliant, brave and beautiful Rose. “Safe and **never** alone, so tell me what you need me to do.”

Swallowing thickly, The Doctor pulled back and gestured to the computer, his voice quiet. “Those co-ordinates over there, set them all at six.” He told her, and Rose turned without hesitation, leading him to stare after her in wonder.

Another warning from the computer shook him out of it quickly, and he rushed to continue what he was working on, leaving Rose to the duty he’d left her. She’d noticed, with a pang of relief that this time he hadn’t even shouted at her for coming back. Things were changing, and as she caught sight of the Cybermen on the floor below approaching on the computer monitor, she felt a sense of grim satisfaction.

Let them come; it would all be over soon.

The Doctor finished typing out a code onto Yvonne’s laptop, only to grin triumphantly when everything seemed to fall into place. Rose looked up at him, and he could see a new light in her eyes as she grinned back at him with her tongue touched smiled.

“That's more like it!” She enthused, “A bit of a smile! The old team...!”

“Hope and Glory,” The Doctor continued, picking up the magnaclamps with an even wider grin growing on his face. He was sure he’d feel guilty regarding what Rose was leaving behind for him later, but for now, she was here, she was with him, and when The Doctor had Rose Tyler by his side, there was nothing he couldn’t do. “Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake!”

“Which one's Shiver?” Rose asked, though they both knew the answer – it was routine.

“Oh, I'm Shake,” The Doctor winked, setting the clamp down into her arms. She didn’t waste a second, rushing to the wall, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. This moment, it all led to this moment. She pressed the red button as The Doctor told her to, but turned, reaching into her inside pockets and pulling out the two bundles of rope.

“Doctor!” She called out, and when he turned, she threw one of the bundles towards him, which he caught in obvious surprise, staring at her in disbelief. “Just some insurance! Can’t have us letting go and fallin’ into the void!”

“Where were you-?” He began, but Rose was already wrapping one half of her own rope around her waist, tying it securely in a knot Jack had taught her a lifetime ago. Strong and secure, it would be all she needed to keep her tethered to the clamp.

“Bigger on the inside pockets,” She explained quickly, tying the other end of the rope to the clamp before she grinned at him, giving a hearty tug to the rope to ensure it was secure. “I don’t jus’ wear this cos I love the colour!”

“Oh, Rose Tyler, you are brilliant!” The Doctor grinned in disbelief, quickly tying himself to his own clamp. He had no idea WHY she’d been keeping rope in her pockets, bigger on the inside or not, but he’d ask her later. She smiled back at him, before her expression sobered, nodding to the window.

“Doctor, the Daleks are coming!” She called, and he looked up to see she was right. The cult of Skaro were headed straight for the rift chamber window, having discovered his intent, and he grinned madly. Time to send them back into hell.

“Let’s go, then!” He ordered, and together, they pushed the levers into the ‘up’ position, before they both rushed to grab hold of the clamps as the wall behind them began to glow brightly. A fierce wind began to pick up, and Rose gripped onto the clamp tightly as she felt her feet lift up off of the ground. Terror filled her every sense, and she could feel her body being sucked towards the breach, and she looked at The Doctor as the Daleks crashed through the window, falling into the void. He laughed joyfully as more Daleks and Cybermen alike were pulled against their will right to where they belonged.

Despite how terrified she was, she laughed with him, only for the sound to fade abruptly at the shower of sparks that came from her lever, before it slid back into the closed position. The wind began to die down, and Rose’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t need the Doctor’s panicked cry to turn it back on, but inched forward until she fell onto the lever, gripping it tightly.

Forcing it back into position, Rose gripped onto it as tightly as she was able, her eyes locking onto The Doctor’s once more as the wind picked up and the suction increased. He was shouting to her, but the sound was muffled, and everything seemed to fly by her in slow motion. She’d reached the moment, the moment she feared most of all, and she could feel her fingers slipping on the lever.

For the first time, though, she wasn’t afraid.

Her fingers slipped, and she fell, flying backwards towards the breach with The Doctor’s scream of her name ringing in her ears. She grasped blindly, her hands finding purchase on her safety rope, though it slipped through her fingers and ran sharply across her palms, causing her to cry out from the friction burns it had inevitably left behind. Her hands all but useless, the rope pulled taut and forced her body to a sudden stop, forcing the wind out of her lungs in a sharp gasp, pain rocketing through her entire body.

Despite the pain, Rose grasped at the rope, clinging to it though her body screamed in protest, and suddenly, she hit the floor hard, ragged gasps leaving her lips as she curled up slightly on the side, trembling.

“ROSE! **ROSE!”** The Doctor was by her side in an instant, his fingers fumbling desperately with the knot around her waist before he tugged her free of the rope and drew her into his arms, holding her tightly as though he was afraid she would disappear. She did her best to regain control over her breathing, her head spinning as she heard the triumphant song of the TARDIS in her mind.

“Doctor…?” Rose murmured, pulling back from the hug slowly, once she was able to take deep breaths. She stared at him, their faces inches apart, and her palm pressed to his cheek, ignoring the dull pain that erupted immediately at the touch. He was watching her carefully, assessing her for damage, but she could see the underlying fear in his eyes, that he could have lost her, and it hit her.

She’d done it.

“Oh, Doctor!” Rose burst out, tears immediately beginning to fall down her cheeks, and she dove forward, wrapping her arms as tightly around him as she could, burying her face into his shoulder as she sobbed, relief, joy and grief tearing her apart. She’d defied the universe and she’d defied time. She’d changed her timeline and she’d won.

The Doctor hugged Rose back, one hand moving to cup the back of her head, feeling himself tremble. He’d been certain the rope would hold, but seeing her fall had been terrifying. The rope had saved her life, had stopped her before she’d fallen into the void, but if Rose hadn’t thought to bring it along with her… He shuddered.

Slowly, they pulled apart, Rose wiping at her eyes as she stood on shaky legs. She moved to the wall where the breach had been, her fingertips touching the white paint lightly. On the other side of this wall, in another world, her mother would begin to lead a wonderful life, and Rose moved forward, closing her eyes and resting her forehead down there.

“Have a wonderful life mum, dad… _Tony_ ,” She whispered softly. “I love you.”

The Doctor watched her silently, his hearts aching for the obvious loss she was feeling, and he moved forward slowly, hesitantly wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Right now, he was all she had, and though he knew one day she’d come to resent him for this choice, and as much as it would hurt, he would be there for her until it came to pass.

Rose leaned into him, her own arm moving around his waist, and she closed her eyes and dropped her head to his shoulder. Though the loss of her mother and a family she would never now know hurt her deeply, Rose couldn’t help but smile, once more hearing the TARDIS sing in her mind as she celebrated her wolf’s victory.

No matter what came next, Rose would have The Doctor, and he would have her.


	9. Bad Wolf Bay

The Doctor’s hand rested protectively over the small of Rose’s back as he guided her into the TARDIS, watching her carefully with a mixture of guilt and relief washing over him. He doubted he’d ever forgive himself for being the reason Rose could never see her mother again, but knowing today _wouldn’t_ be the last time he ever heard her voice filled with him a terrible and selfish happiness he couldn’t withhold.

The moment they walked into the console room, Rose seemed to deflate, and she fell onto the console, her hands hitting the panels as her legs almost gave way. In the back of his head, he felt the TARDIS sending out waves of consolation, and he silently thanked her. Rose ducked her head, her arms shaking, and The Doctor hesitated.

“Rose…?”

She looked up at him, eyes glassy, but a small smile on her lips. The Doctor moved closer to her before he gestured silently to her hands, indicating that he wanted to see.

“It’s just a little burn, Doctor, really, s’alright,” Rose tried to dismiss her injuries ( _no surprises there_ , The Doctor thought, somewhat dryly) but held out her hands towards him anyway, and his fingers closed around her wrists as he observed the vicious red welts running along her palms. His gaze softened, and he reached into his pocket, drawing out his sonic and switching the setting. He activated it and silently ran it along the length of the rope burn, his touch gentle as to not hurt her further, and Rose allowed him to work, her gaze locked onto his face as he concentrated.

As her skin began to heal itself, Rose let out a soft sigh of relief as the pain began to fade, feeling a slight tingling sensation through her fingers. The Doctor removed his sonic and inspected the surface, lightly running his thumb over the newly repaired and slightly pink skin, lifting an eyebrow.

“Does this hurt?” He asked, and Rose shook her head in response. There was a faint ache around her waist, where she’d tied the rope and where it had dug into her skin when it had stopped her fall, but those bruises would soon fade. If she had injuries that weren’t life threatening, Rose had long since noticed that they healed quite quickly.

John had always been unnerved by just how fast she managed to heal herself, and he’d run his own tests, coming to the conclusion that her brief stint in controlling the Time Vortex had left her with some residual huon energy that allowed her cells to regenerate much faster than a normal human. He’d cheerfully assured her that it wasn’t deadly, that it was fine, but Rose had always felt as though there was more to it; that he had hidden something from her, but if he had, then his knowledge had died with him.

Oh god, _John._

All of Rose’s previous strength, her will to hold herself together and fight through the storm threatening to tear her apart seemed to crumble in an instant, and she buckled. Her hands gripped at The Doctor’s arms as her legs gave way, and she broke, loud sobs beginning to tear themselves out of her throat as everything began to overwhelm her. She was happy, oh _so_ happy to still be with The Doctor, but her grief for John would _never_ die even if he never technically ended up existing in this timeline, and there was no telling just how much things would _change_ , now.

Maybe she really would never see her family again.

The Doctor’s arms wrapped around her tightly and the two of them sank to the floor of the TARDIS. He held her close, allowing her to cry into his chest and to grieve for what she’d lost and what she’d left behind. She hadn’t intended to do this, to break down in front of him so plainly, because she knew he’d only blame himself.

She’d chosen this, and she needed to deal with the effects of her decision, but it wasn’t The Doctor’s burden to bear.

It was too late to take back the tears, so Rose continued to cry, her face buried into the front of The Doctor’s suit, needing to release everything she’d been holding up inside of her. John’s death, her own death, the loss of an entire world she’d known and come to appreciate, the joys of another chance… For now, she would cry for everything she’d lost and everything she’d gained until there was nothing left to cry, and then she’d pick herself back up and move on.

“ _I’m sorry_ ,”

The Doctor’s whisper was so faint, mumbled into her hair as he’d dropped his lips to press a faint kiss there that she hadn’t been sure she’d actually head him at first. When it registered that she WASN’T hearing things, she immediately pulled back from the hug, hurriedly wiping her cheeks and hiccupping through her emotions.

“Don’t say that, Doctor,” She insisted, her hands gripping the sleeves of his suit, shaking her head. “It wasn’t your fault; I **chose** this, I chose to stay and I don’t regret it, I’ll never regret it. I just need to come to terms with the thought of never seeing my mum again, y’know? It’s… It’s not gonna be easy, but I wouldn’ change this for the world.”

Her eyes bored into his own, and not for the first time, The Doctor found himself overwhelmed by her. His pink and yellow human held him in such high regards that he constantly did his best to live up to her belief in him. She made him better, she always had. Once more, here she was, having given up her entire world to stay with him. He didn’t deserve this, he would never deserve _her_.

He doubted the guilt he felt towards her circumstances could be so easily pushed aside, but he would do his best to make sure she lived a wonderful life with him, and perhaps, if he was lucky, and if he did something clever… Well, he’d need to do some scans first, and he didn’t want to get Rose’s hopes up, but there could be a chance to reach Jackie before the Universes sealed up completely. One last goodbye; he could give her that.

“Rose Tyler,” The Doctor sighed quietly, his fingers moving to lightly ghost along the skin on the back of her neck, prompting her to shiver lightly at the touch. He smiled sadly, moving to press his forehead gently against hers. “You’re _brilliant_ , you are. Completely and utterly extraordinary.”

“Brilliant for a _human_ , you mean?” Rose whispered back to him, but he could see her smile, recalling events that had since become a joke between the two of them. His old self had been so desperate to hide his conflicting feelings towards Rose, he’d layered every compliment to her with some form of light insult towards her species. Not this time, though.

“ _Nah_ , you’re just generally brilliant,” He said honestly, and her smile grew in response. They stayed silent for a moment then, just relishing being in the presence of one another, his fingers lightly tangling within the honey strands of her hair as his thumb stroked tenderly over the back of her neck. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he feared to even admit to himself. The words would never make it past his lips; so instead, he finally drew back from her, standing up and stepping away, allowing his hand to fall.

Rose shivered as she felt the warmth of his body leave her, feeling his loss as though he’d left the room, though he only stood a few steps away from her. He’d been staring at her so intensely and with so much emotion brewing in his eyes, she’d felt almost sure he was going to kiss her. Her lips felt dry, and she moistened them with her tongue, noting how The Doctor’s eyes flickered down briefly to follow the path. Her stomach swooped and she felt her heartbeat pick up, longing to throw herself at him; to kiss him again like she had in another world.

There was so much distance between them in comparison to how she’d been with John, and it frustrated her to feel so HURT over it. The Doctor didn’t know what they could have, what she could give to him if he just opened himself _up_ a little bit.

The TARDIS nudged her mind impatiently, and had Rose been able to hear her speak, she’d imagine the ship would be urging her to tell The Doctor EXACTLY what she could do for him, to tell him what she’d **already** done. It was time. Steeling herself, Rose opened her mouth --- only for The Doctor to immediately cut her off.

“-Bigger on the inside pockets?” He asked with a small grin, hands slipping into his own pockets as he rocked back lightly on his heels. “The TARDIS doesn’t just give clothes like that out to just anyone. Seems like you’ve made a big impression on her.”

“Oh, yeah,” Though initially thrown by the shift, Rose now smiled, running her fingers over the console gently. “She’s amazin’, and I guess she just wanted someone _else_ to be able to show off for once.” She flashed him a coy smile, and The Doctor let out a scoff.

“Rose, I don’t need _bigger on the inside pockets_ to be the most impressive person in the room,” He reminded her, and Rose’s smile turned into a grin.

“True, you DO find ways to be impressive, but not _nearly_ as impressive as you might be thinkin’,” She teased, and The Doctor’s mouth fell open in surprise.

“I take you on my sentient, time-travelling space ship and show you times and planets you’ve never even dreamed up, and you don’t think that’s impressive? Blimey, Rose. You’re making me work for this, aren’t you?” He sniffed.

“Someone’s gotta keep that ego of yours in check, don’t they? ‘Sides, if _anyone’s_ impressive, it’d be the TARDIS,” Rose quipped in turn, and The Doctor’s eyes narrowed in faux outrage, able to hear a delighted hum in his mind that almost sounded like laughter, the console thrumming happily, which caused Rose’s eyes to light up as she giggled.

They were ganging up on him!

“What happened to not arguing with the designated driver?” The Doctor recalled one of their older adventures, when he’d been much more closed off and had pulled Rose through time and space to watch her home planet burn, the way his own had. It had been unfair of him, he knew that now, but the pain of the war was still far too fresh in his mind back then. Rose’s presence had eventually dulled the pain, reminded him of all he still had left to fight for.

Rose only shrugged in response, her smile still broad, and not for the first time, The Doctor felt a sharp tug on his senses, trying to tell him something wasn’t right, something wasn’t normal. He focused, eyes roaming over Rose’s form until her timeline came into his line of sight, and he stiffened instinctively.

Since he’d been rejected from peeking by the TARDIS, The Doctor had done his best to push the timeline away from his attention. If he acknowledged it, it would be too easy to try to look and get all of the answers. Now, though, he could feel it, Rose’s timeline had been changed in a HUGE way, and that scared him. He couldn’t imagine who was trying to change her life or what they were trying to achieve, but he needed to act.

“Rose,” His voice was suddenly serious, his eyes locked onto her as he observed the impossible band of gold that careened around the entirety of her form, the way it tore apart at one end and broke away, intertwining with another section, knotting and twisting together in ways he’d never thought possible. “I need to ask you something.”

“Of course, Doctor.” Rose’s smile began to fade, noticing the darkness that had clouded his expression, worry beginning to seep into her mind and voice. “What is it?”

“Have you got any memories that you feel like you shouldn’t have?” He asked, before realising he needed to clarify. “When you changed time to be with your dad when he died, you kept the memories of Jackie telling you he died alone, didn’t you? They became memories of an _alternate_ timeline, but you REMEMBERED them. D’you have any other memories like that? Conflicting events?”

The Doctor could see unease beginning to grow on Rose’s face, and she slowly stood up before taking a step back, her arms moving to wrap around her body almost protectively, and he bit back a curse. He didn’t need to burden her with worries right now; she’d just lost her _mother_. Still, he needed to know, he needed to understand. He didn’t know what this change to her timeline would do, and now he knew something HAD changed, he couldn’t just ignore it.

“I don’t – I dunno,” Rose lied, biting her bottom lip hard, ignoring the hum of reassurance from the TARDIS. “Why d’you ask?”

The Doctor didn’t answer for a moment, merely studying her with furrowed eyebrows.

“There are infinite possibilities and infinite choices that you could make from day to day, and for every choice you don’t make in this world, in another world, you DID make it. It’s a natural process, completely normal.” The Doctor explained, watching her carefully. “I can _see_ timelines. It’s part of being a Time Lord, but I can ignore them for the most part; and I make a point on not looking at companion’s lives. I couldn’t help it for you, though, Rose. Your timeline is _split_ and recedes onto itself. There are links that don’t belong, binding you to another timeline altogether. In that timeline, there would’ve been things you’ll never get to say or do, actions you’ll never take, places you’ll never visit.” His fingers moved to run through his hair, frustrated and concerned.

Rose was shaking her head rapidly, clearly frightened. He wasn’t sure if it was from what he was telling her or something else entirely, but he ignored the TARDIS as she hummed angrily to him. He could have fixed this problem a long time ago if she hadn’t interfered.

“But this other timeline still exists, right? S-So in this other world, I still lived everything, but when it changed, it just became an alternate world or somethin’, right?” Rose tried to reason, and The Doctor frowned.

“Ordinarily, that might happen, but not to _your_ timelines. Where the other one broke off, it’s completely severed and bound itself to your current one somehow. The other Rose ceased to exist the moment the timelines changed.” His expression darkened. “A whole other life was taken from you. A whole life you’ll _never_ live.”

“Okay, but, what if they changed something that could have been **bad** for me?” Rose challenged with a tremor in her voice. “For _us_. What if… What if whoever did this was just trying to _help_ us?”

“Rose, even the slightest change to your timeline can have **huge** ramifications down the line. For all we know, this change could lead to your –“ The Doctor cut himself off sharply before he could say those words. _Death_. If someone had tempered with her timeline and he lost Rose as a result… “The point is; this shouldn’t have happened. The other timeline is still linked to this one you’re living, meaning memories could possibly be leaking through to you. If I find out what caused this, I can try to undo it, to separate the timelines and get rid of those false memories. They belong to the **other** Rose, not to you. If we’re lucky, that Rose can go back to living her own life in her own world, just as she should be.”

He didn’t want to scare or overwhelm her, and he knew it wasn’t fair to bring this up when she’d lost so much already, but the thought of losing her when he’d only just managed to cling onto her this time was driving him to take action.

“N-No, I just – I -I can’t _do_ this,” Rose choked out, her fingers moving to cover her mouth. She moved backwards towards the hallway before she turned on her heel and ran, leaving The Doctor to stare after her with wide eyes, and a terrible feeling of dread and guilt settling in his stomach. He didn’t know why, but he felt as though he’d just said the wrong thing.

* * *

Rose was avoiding him.

It had been three days since he’d confronted her about her timelines, and since then, he hadn’t seen her at all. He hadn’t been able to find her room, and he could only assume the TARDIS was hiding it from him. He wasn’t sure exactly what he’d done to upset her so much, but his ignorance only served to make the TARDIS even MORE angry.

Defeated, he’d conceded that his ship would let him find Rose when she was ready and decided to focus on trying to find Rose a way to say goodbye to Jackie as an apology for upsetting her. He’d made various stops in his search, including going back to the Powell Estate. He’d need something of Jackie’s in order to make a psychic connection with her, and he’d settled on a necklace he’d found in a jewellery box in her bedroom.

His short visit to Rose’s home, however, led him to discovering that both Rose and Jackie Tyler had been listed as missing and presumed dead. Their names stood out among many other hundreds but he hadn’t bothered to erase Rose’s name from the list. He’d let her decide on what to do regarding that.

He hadn’t been completely sure his idea would work, but after hours upon hours of desperate searching, he’d found a lingering crack between universes. It was more of an echo, really – fading quickly and would soon cease to exist, but it was enough. Once he’d locked onto its location, all he’d needed was a power source strong enough to send a projection through time, space and the universe.

Originally The Doctor had planned to simply orbit the first supernova he could locate and allow its residual energy to power the transfer, but before he’d made the link to Jackie, the TARDIS had picked up on a huge storm of energy within the solar winds not too far from where he’d initially began to orbit. A Wolf-Rayet star had gone supernova, and the resulting surge would enable The Doctor to lengthen the time Rose had to speak to her mother by another few minutes. He would need to be much more careful, though. Wolf-Rayet stars were much more intense than your regular supernovae, and he’d only ever seen one go supernova once before.

Well, it was more accurate to say it had gone _hypernova_ , which was… it had been an experience.

The TARDIS had been co-operative for once, though, and once The Doctor was sure they were in orbit, all of their shields up and running, he finally decided to make the call. He gripped Jackie’s necklace in one hand and closed his eyes, locking all of his senses on the last remaining tear of time and space. He summoned all of his telepathic ability, dropping his shields for the first time in a long time, and calling out a single name beyond the void.

_Jackie_.

* * *

Rose’s hands held tightly onto a mug of fresh tea as she sat at the kitchen table, her thumbs lightly rubbing over the rim of the cup. Her lips were pursed as she felt the TARDIS moving, but she made no attempt to leave the galley. The Doctor had been moving the TARDIS around for a few days now, and though she was curious to know where he’d been, she was also terrified.

She could remember all too well just how angry he’d been when she’d changed time and summoned the reapers by mistake. She’d felt all too sure that when she got back onto the TARDIS he would take her straight home and leave her back with her mum, but he didn’t. He seemed to think she’d learned her lesson. What would he do if he found out she’d meddled with time again?

He wanted to fix her timelines, to send her back to that life without him, without John; but he didn’t know. He didn’t know she was dead there. She’d lived that life and even if the timelines broke apart, there’d be nothing left for the girl she’d once been. No more adventures or moments lived, just an emptiness.

She wanted to tell him the truth, but she was frightened of what he’d say.

The doors to the galley opened suddenly, and Rose looked up with wide eyes when The Doctor strode in. He froze at the sight of her, before he immediately moved over in her direction, and she tried not to flinch.

“Rose,” The Doctor breathed, and there was evident relief in his voice. “I’m glad I found you. Come with me, there’s something you need to see.”

Rose frowned, uncertain, but the TARDIS hummed encouragingly in her mind, and she relaxed. Reaching out, she took his hand and left her cup of tea abandoned on the table as The Doctor turned to pull her out of the galley and through the winding hallways of the ship. He led her to the console room and to the front doors, before smiling lightly.

He pushed open the doors, showing that the TARDIS was currently in space. Rose stepped closer, staring out in awe at the sight that greeted her.

“S’beautiful,” She confessed quietly, her eyes shining as she stared out at the bright white light shining in the centre of a huge cloud of reds and oranges that seemed to cascade outwards as far as the eye could see. “What is it…?”

“It’s a Wolf-Rayet star gone supernova,” The Doctor replied, watching her for a moment before he closed the TARDIS doors and rushed back over to the console. “I’m using it as a power source. I’ve been searching for a few days now, following the outlines of fading cracks in the universe until I found it. A small, fading breach between universes.”

Rose’s breath caught in her chest as the realisation of just what this was seemed to hit her.

_I’m burning up a sun just to say goodbye._

“What does that mean, then?” Rose asked, following him quickly to the console, and he smiled at her.

“I took one of your mum’s necklaces,” The Doctor confessed, handing it over to her. Rose took it, blinking in confusion, turning the golden chain in her hands before slipping it into her pocket. “I was able to use it to make a psychic link with your mother – just enough to plant suggestion in her mind. Hopefully, she’ll follow it.” The Doctor took Rose by the shoulders, gently moving her to a spot by the console, before he flipped some switches and activated his sonic, which whirred to life. “Concentrate, Rose. Think about your mother, open your mind and make the link.”

Closing her eyes, Rose concentrated, thinking of Jackie and her desire to see her again, and she could feel a pull within her mind as the link formed, prompting her to slowly open her eyes once more. She could see a beach beyond her, a jeep in the distance with Mickey and her dad stood by it, and in front of her – there she was. Her mother.

Jackie stared at her with wide eyes, hardly daring to believe it, and Rose let out a laugh. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling broadly.

“Mum,” She choked out, and Jackie’s hands moved to cover her mouth.

“Oh sweetheart, you look like a _ghost_ – where are you?”

Just hearing her voice again was a soothing balm to all of the pain she’d been feeling the past few days, and Rose tucked her hair lightly behind her ears.

“We’re on the TARDIS. The Doctor found a tiny little gap between universes. It’s closin’, but it’s just enough to send images through. We’re orbiting um, a supernova right now in order to get enough power. The Doctor’s burning up a sun just so I can say goodbye.” She explained, and The Doctor stepped into view.

“Well, it’s more like we’re burning up _thousands of stars_ at once, but you got the basic idea right,” He admitted, before smiling warmly at Jackie. “I can help with the _ghost_ issue.” He reached out with his sonic, switching the setting before activating it, adding the appearance of mass to their image.

Jackie moved closer, her eyes fixed on Rose, and she hesitated before trying to reach out, and Rose shook her head.

“M’not really here, mum. I can’t come through. I’m sorry,”

“Why not?” Jackie demanded petulantly, and there were tears slipping freely down her face. The Doctor knew she just longed to hug her daughter one more time, and his voice was apologetic when he spoke.

“Both of our Universes would collapse entirely upon themselves,” He offered by way of explanation, and Jackie scoffed.

“Shut it, you,” She instructed, but the words lacked her usual fire. She looked at him, a half glare on her face through the tears. “I heard you, y’know. I’m my head. I didn’t know what it meant, but I followed where it was tellin’ me to go, and you ended up dragging me all the way to bloomin’ NORWAY!”

“Norway?” The Doctor asked, bemused. “Is that where the gap came out? Huh.”

“Yeah, some beach not far from Bergen. Bad Wolf Bay, the locals call it,” Jackie nodded, and The Doctor froze. He looked quickly at Rose, expecting to see the same surprise on her face. Instead, she was smiling like this didn’t surprise her at all. “How long have we got?”

“About three minutes,” The Doctor replied apologetically, before he stepped back slightly in order to let Rose have her time.

“Three minutes? What the hell am I s’posed to say to her in three minutes?!” Jackie demanded, before she looked back at Rose, expression tormented. “I um – I’m pregnant, Rose! Three months along,” She blurted out, and The Doctor’s eyebrows lifted upwards. Rose smiled broadly in response, tears now escaping her eyes and falling freely down her cheeks.

“I’m gonna be a big sister…!” She choked out, laughing shakily, torn between joy and sorrow. Tony would be born, just as he should be, but she’d never know him. “I’m so happy for you, mum! You’ve got dad back, and now you’ve got a baby on the way!”

“But I’ve not got YOU.” Jackie pointed out, arms winding around her body. “I looked in your bag, the one you left behind when you went back,” She added, and Rose smiled sadly, nodding her head. “I dunno how you knew, sweetheart, but _thank you_.”

The Doctor frowned in confusion, looking between Jackie and Rose as he tried to figure out what they were talking about. Rose… DID have a bag for a while, didn’t she? He hadn’t noticed she’d left it in Pete’s world when she came back to him. What was in it?

“I read that letter too,” Jackie continued, and Rose wiped at her eyes. “You had it all figured out somehow, didn’t you?”

“S’pose you could say that,” Rose agreed quietly. “I just wanted you to have something to remember me by, y’know?”

“Oh I don’t need trinkets to remember you, love. You’re my _daughter_.” Jackie whispered. “I’ll never forget you, not even for a second. I’ll tell this baby all about the two of you, his big sister out there in the stars, savin’ planets and bein’ _wonderful_.”

Rose covered her mouth as emotions overwhelmed her, and she ducked her head, shoulders shaking. The Doctor stepped back up to her, hand resting on the small of her back.

“Will I ever see you two again?” Jackie asked, lips trembling, and The Doctor felt a pang of regret in his hearts as he shook his head.

“You can’t,” he confessed, and Jackie looked back at him, sucking in a deep breath.

“Then you look after her, y’hear? Keep her safe and don’t you let anythin’ hurt her, Doctor! Please!” Her eyes shone, and The Doctor nodded.

“I won’t let anything happen to her, Jackie. I promise.”

Jackie watched him closely for a moment before smiling thinly, and she turned her eyes back to her sobbing daughter, before she too began to cry.

“I love you, Rose – I love you so, so much!”

Rose looked up at her, longing to throw her arms around the woman who had loved her unconditionally for her entire life, who had always been there for her and comforted her when she needed it most.

“I love you too, mummy!” She cried, her eyes searching Jackie’s face desperately, trying to remember every feature. “Don’t forget me!”

“Never ever,” Jackie swore. “Don’t you forget me either!”

“I won’t, I promise! I’ll never forget you-“

Whatever else she’d wanted to say was cut off abruptly, and she shuddered with a gasp, feeling the connection she’d held with her mother sever completely. The image of her faded from her mind, and she closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. She knew there was a chance she’d really never see her mother again. The dimension canon had been her own project, something she’d pitched to the scientists and her father. They’d helped her bring it to fruition, but without her spark of an idea, would it even be created? For the first time since waking in this body, Rose didn’t know the answers.

The Doctor’s arms wrapped securely around her, holding her tightly against him, and her body shook. She buried her face into the front of his jacket, trying to pull herself together. The Doctor, for his part, was trying to figure out just exactly what Jackie had meant. What had Rose left behind? A letter?

_You had it all figured out somehow, didn’t you?_

The Doctor grimaced slightly but shook his head. He’d already upset her enough. His questions could wait.

“Thank you, Doctor,” Rose pulled away from him after a moment, smiling tiredly and scrubbing her hands over her face. “For doin’ that for me. I’m glad I got to see her again – now I know she can be happy there, she’ll have a baby and a new life. She’ll be amazin’, I know it.”

The Doctor managed a smile back, but before he could really offer anything in response, movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned slightly, only to freeze in complete shock at the sight of a woman in a wedding gown. Her back was to them, her fiery red hair glinting in the dim light of the TARDIS, and as though sensing his shock, Rose turned herself.

Silently, the two of them observed the bride, eyes wide. Finally, words forced their way out of his mouth, but all he could manage was a strangled: “ _What_?!”

The bride turned around, startled as she looked between the two of them. She let out a yelp of surprise, stepping back slightly, before her expression twisted into a glare.

“Who’re you two, then?!” She demanded, and Rose started out of her shock, feeling a grin threatening to form on her lips as The Doctor spluttered out another disbelieving ‘ _what??_ ’

Oh, this was just BRILLIANT! So, this was how The Doctor met Donna? She hadn’t been able to remember how they’d met, though she knew she’d had the memories once when she’d bonded with John. Now, those memories didn’t seem to exist within her mind, not even when she tried to call them up. She couldn’t remember _anything_. It was disconcerting, but she could worry about it later. For now, they had a situation to deal with.

“Where am I?!” Donna snapped, and Rose bit down on her bottom lip to stifle a laugh. She liked Donna, had appreciated her burning spirit, but The Doctor didn’t seem able to comprehend the situation. “WHERE THE HELL IS THIS PLACE?!”

“ _ **WHAT?!”**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's interesting to note that the Theta Muscae is actually a Wolf-Rayet star! I mean, The Doctor’s childhood nickname was Theta, and I just find the connection to be pretty neat – hence why I couldn’t resist this little nod to Rose’s more wolfish nature with the change I made. Anyway, The runaway bride starts next! chapters will slow down a fair bit as i've caught up on myself, but I'm still continuing, I promise! 
> 
> Thanks for all of your continued support!


	10. The Runaway Bride Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your continued support, everyone! Just a warning, The Runaway Bride is at least 4 chapters long, so just work with me for a while haha! Most of the other re-writes will be one or two chapters long, but I don't know how to control myself, so I end up writing far too much. Still, I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Donna is an absolute treasure to write, I can't wait until I start season four (which i promise, WILL happen)

This was not how The Doctor had anticipated this day going, not in the slightest. He’d just wanted to give Rose the chance to say goodbye to her mother, and to figure out just what was happening to her timelines. He had NOT expected an unwelcome passenger to board the TARDIS, especially one who seemed incredibly irate at being there.

She took a defensive position, her shoulders stiff as she glared at the two of them as though THEY were the ones intruding. He called out mentally to the TARDIS, hoping for some kind of explanation, but she was being unusually silent. Fine, if she wanted to ignore him, then so be it, for now; he had bigger problems.

“You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is... that is physically impossible! How did you-?” The Doctor immediately began to ramble, unable to string together a decent sentence. He chanced a look at Rose, but she was watching them both with a strange smile on her lips. Was she – Was she ENJOYING this?

“Tell me where I am,” The ginger woman snapped, ignoring everything he’d just said. “I **demand** you tell me right now, where am I?”

“You’re on the TARDIS,” The Doctor replied, completely bemused.

“The what?” she asked, every muscle in her body radiating tension, and The Doctor fought back a grimace.

“The TARDIS,” He repeated, and the woman’s eyebrows shot upwards, her voice going even higher in pitch. (if that were possible)

“The WHAT?!” She repeated, and Rose glanced at The Doctor, noticing he was ready to snap. Shaking her head, she moved around the console towards the woman, smiling reassuringly at her, hands lifted to try to be placating. The Doctor might be confused as to how she’d got here, and so was she, honestly, but poor Donna looked like she’d just been plucked out from what should be one of the best days of her life.

“It’s an acronym, the TARDIS. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space,” Rose smiled lightly, gesturing to The Doctor. “He’s The Doctor, and I’m Rose. We kind of… travel.”

“What, you go around travelling and **kidnapping** people?” Donna shot back, and The Doctor couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes as he moved around the console. “What’s this, then, some sort of human trafficking thing?! I’ll have you know, the minute I get back, me and my husband will be suing the living _backside_ off of you two! I don’t care what you’ve got planned, I’m not doing ANYTHING!”

“No, no, honestly, it’s nothin’ like that!” Rose shook her head quickly, biting her bottom lip. “Listen, we’re not trying to kidnap you or hurt you or anythin’, in fact, we’ll do what we can to get you home. It’s your big day, yeah?” She flashed the redhead a tongue in teeth smile. “I love your dress.”

Donna’s expression softened slightly in response, sensing genuine sincerity coming from the blonde, but The Doctor poked his head up from the console, looking perplexed.

“Hold on, what're you dressed like that for?” He asked, and Rose pressed her face into her hand, muttering something under her breath. Donna simply lifted her eyebrows, shifting her gaze back to him.

“I’m going ten pin bowling,” She offered flatly, before her voice twisted into a shout. “What d’you think, **DUMBO**?!

“Doctor, it’s obviously her wedding day,” Rose offered by way of explanation, and he looked between both women, slightly wounded by the insult and overwhelmed in general. This… _woman_ was just too loud and in his face, and quite frankly, he didn’t know how to handle the situation. Rose seemed to be doing better than he was, at least. “Sorry ‘bout him, he’s really good at missing the obvious sometimes.”

“Rose,” The Doctor warned, and Rose flashed him a smirk in response.

“London Eye Transmitter,” She reminded him, and The Doctor fell silent, glaring petulantly at the controls. To an extent, Rose could understand him – he’d always been more of a big picture bloke, which was why he often lost sight of things right in front of him. He was completely brilliant, but even big Time Lord brains couldn’t keep track of EVERYTHING.

“I was halfway down the aisle,” Donna recalled mournfully, bringing her hands up to her temples, and Rose felt a pang of sympathy for her. Getting sucked into The Doctor’s life definitely wasn’t easy, and she knew that too well, but she’d happily gotten involved when he’d come barrelling into her life. Donna, though, didn’t have a choice.

“Doctor, how could she just _appear_ like that?” Rose asked, turning back to him with a frown finally forming on her lips. “We’re nowhere near Earth, are we?”

The Doctor shook his head in response, confusion furrowing his brow. He chanced a glance at Donna, only for his eyes to widen as he noticed her running for the TARDIS doors. That was a problem; they were still orbiting the Wolf-Rayet star.

“No, wait!” He called after her, running quickly in the same direction, but he was too late. She opened up the doors, only to come up short when she stared out at the sight before her. Silently, The Doctor came up beside her, watching her reaction carefully, and Rose moved to her other side, hesitantly resting her hand on Donna’s shoulder. “You’re in space,” The Doctor offered after a second. “Outer space. The TARDIS is how Rose and I get around; she’s my… space ship.”

“How am I breathing?” Donna asked quietly, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful sight before her, and she heard Rose breath a soft little sigh beside her. She sounded… sad. Wistful, almost.

“The TARDIS is protecting us,” The Doctor replied, hands slipping into his pockets. “Now, who are you, exactly?”

“Donna,” She replied after a beat.

“Human?”

“Yeah. What, is that _optional_?” Donna scoffed, her words steeped in sarcasm.

“It is for me,” The Doctor shrugged, and Donna froze, turning to look at him warily. He LOOKED normal enough; a bit on the skinny side, but he still looked normal. Then again, he had some kind of weird space ship flying around some sort of… _supernova_ and he’d managed to beam her up from her wedding, somehow. Faced with the evidence, she felt as though she didn’t have much of a choice to believe him.

“You’re alien,” She noted quietly, and at his nod, she turned to look at Rose, who was still watching the supernova outside with a look on her face that could only be described as _sad_ , and her suspicion of the two of them only continued to grow. “What about you then, blondie?”

“What?” Rose blinked, coming out of her trance, before she offered Donna a smile. “Nah, I’m human. Born on Earth, just like you.” Her expression turned suddenly plaintive, and she rubbed her hands together slowly. “Not much left for me there now, though.”

Donna opened her mouth to try to think of something to say, but averted her gaze, arms moving to wrap around her own body.

“It’s freezing with these doors open,” She muttered, and The Doctor, who had been watching Rose with a pained expression, darted forward to shut the doors before he turned on his heel and rushed back to the console. He could sense a mystery beginning to form, and if random humans were going to start appearing on his TARDIS, he wanted to know the reason.

“So, Doctor,” Rose piped up, and both he and Donna turned to look at her. “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know. I don't understand this, and I understand everything!” The Doctor’s voice rose as he rushed around the console. “This... this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside.” He picked up an ophthalmoscope from a small pot of tools hung on the edge of the console and dashed back over to Donna, using it to peer into her eyes, trying to find SOMETHING to give him a clue. “Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection?” He guessed, frowning. “Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell, or maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-“

Rose had seen the slap coming from a mile away. She could tell just how frustrated Donna was getting as The Doctor babbled nearly incoherently at her. All the poor woman wanted was to get married. Still, Rose puffed out her cheeks to fight back laughter as Donna’s hand came in direct contact with The Doctor’s cheek.

He stumbled back at the blow, completely aghast. “What was that for?!” He demanded, indignant, and Donna seemed to swell up.

“GET ME TO THE CHURCH!” She all but snarled at The Doctor, who drew back, glaring back at her in irritation. He dropped the ophthalmoscope back into the pot, before he turned and moved back to the console.

“Right! Fine! We don't want you here anyway, do we Rose?” The Doctor shot Rose a pointed glare, but she was watching Donna with a curious expression on her face. It was almost… fond. Oh no, _oh no no no_ , he was not having this terrifying, slapping woman on the TARDIS, no matter how much Rose liked her spirit. That would be JUST as bad as having Jackie Tyler on board. “Where is this wedding?”

“Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System!” Donna listed off, moving to the other side of the console and surprisingly, linked her arm through Rose’s. “And you? You’re comin’ with me. I know you said there’s nothin’ left for you on Earth, but I can tell you’re upset when you think about it. You can stay with me til you get back on your feet if you need to. My husband, well, soon to be husband, won’t mind it.”

Rose looked surprised at the offer, tilting her head to the side slowly.

“You’re not taking Rose anywhere!” The Doctor snapped, suddenly heated. He doubted Rose would leave him willingly, but he wouldn’t put it past this woman to drag her out of the doors. Donna let go of Rose, choosing to stand in front of her in an almost protective manner, her eyes narrowing.

“Oh yeah? Just **WATCH** me, spaceman! I’m not havin’ you kidnapping some innocent girl on my watch, y’hear me?! You even think about following us and I’ll have you, I swear!”

Rose looked between the two of them, somewhat bemused. Donna had obviously gotten the wrong idea somehow, but she was grateful of how the older woman seemed to want to keep her safe. Something about her attitude just reminded Rose of her mother, and her heart ached.

“Um, sorry, don’t I get a say in this?” She asked, lifting a hand, and both Donna and The Doctor turned to look at her expectantly. First, she smiled warmly at Donna, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Donna, thank you, really.” Her smile grew even wider. “It’s really nice of you to offer me somewhere to stay even though you jus’ met me, but The Doctor didn’t kidnap me. I chose to come with him, to travel. I’ve seen so much since I started, and it’s been _fantastic_.” Her smile shifted to The Doctor then, who’d softened considerably at her words. “I lost my family not long ago, and I’ll probably never see them again, but they’re safe and alive. I chose to leave them behind because that life isn’t for me anymore. I know it sounds mad, but…” She shrugged. “It’s my life, and I love it.”

“This isn’t some kind of Stockholm syndrome thing, is it? Or like… Martian Mind Control?” Donna asked suspiciously, and The Doctor’s mouth fell open in response, completely shocked that she’d even ASK such a thing. Stockholm…? Well, alright, he’d… admittedly forced people to come on adventures with him before, (Ian and Barbara stood out most prominently in his mind, and he felt a twist of guilt he forced back.) but he was young then! He wouldn’t make those kinds of stupid mistakes again.

“No, no!” Rose let out a laugh, smiling happily. “The Doctor asked me to come with him twice, because I refused the first time, but then I regretted it right away. There’s been loads of chances for me to leave.” She gave The Doctor a pointed glare. “He likes to try to send me away when he thinks things are getting too dangerous… but I always find my way back. The TARDIS is my home.”

Donna pursed her lips slightly as she considered that, but finally she sighed, nodding her head curtly. If Rose wanted to run around space with some skinny Martian, then who was she to stop her? Mad, the pair of them.

Rose moved over to The Doctor then, and she took his hand, smiling at him with a look that Donna could only describe as adoration. The Doctor looked back at her, his eyes soft and tender, and it hit Donna in an instant. They _loved_ each other. Bloody hell; was this some kind of weird sci-fi alien soap opera? She didn’t want any part of this madness.

“Well, I’ve got a wedding to get to.” She said pointedly, folding her arms tightly over her chest, and she heard The Doctor sigh in irritation as he rushed past her towards the doors, Rose following him with their hands still clasped together.

“Right! Chiswick!”

* * *

Useless, absolutely bloody USELESS!

What kind of Martian couldn’t even get the simplest of directions right?

Donna stared around her at the completely unfamiliar surroundings she’d found herself in when she’d exited the ‘TARDIS’, or whatever space-boy called his ship. There wasn’t a single ounce of familiarity around her, and she ground her teeth together. Not even a church in sight! “I said: Saint Mary's. What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?” Donna demanded, but The Doctor ignored her. Spinning, she glared at him, seeing he was stroking the door of his weird blue box like it was some kind of pet. Wait, hold on. Blue _BOX_?!

“Something’s wrong with her,” The Doctor noted instead of answering Donna’s question, and for the first time since Donna boarded, he felt a low, almost sickly hum in the back of his mind, and all of his mental alarms began to blare. “It’s like she’s recalibrating. She’s digesting!” He rushed back inside instantly, and Rose frowned after him, mimicking The Doctor’s gentle stroke against the door.

“What’s wrong old girl?” She murmured, concerned. “Some kind of indigestion or something?” She called out to The Doctor, who was running his fingers over the console buttons, trying to figure out the cause of the ship’s discomfort.

“You could say that!” The Doctor shouted back, before refocusing back onto the TARDIS. “What have you eaten? What's wrong?” He paused. “Donna? You've really gotta think. Is there anything that might've caused this?”

The Doctor began to fire questions off at Donna, who didn’t reply, too stunned by the realisations she’d come to. She circled the TARDIS, noticing how it was completely impossible to be so small on the outside when the inside was HUGE, and she pressed her hands to the blue wood, peering back into the circuit room before she drew out again, her hands covering her mouth.

Rose looked back at her, sympathetic. She could remember all too well just how overwhelmed she’d felt when she’d first stepped onto the TARDIS, and she’d taken to calling it ‘culture shock’, as The Doctor himself once had.

“Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?” The Doctor continued to babble, but Donna turned around abruptly, beginning to walk away.

“Donna!” Rose called out, quickly rushing after her, knowing The Doctor would follow once he’d realised they were gone. She understood they couldn’t let her out of their sight just yet, as The Doctor pointed out. There could be danger around her – after all, Rose was well aware that Donna Noble was the most important woman in all of creation; how could danger NOT follow? “I know it’s a bit much, but come back to the TARDIS, yeah?”

“No way,” Donna replied flatly. “That box is too… weird.”

“She’s not weird!” Rose said defensively, wincing at the odd look Donna gave her. “Look, she’s bigger on the inside, but it’s just part of the whole ‘alien’ thing. You get used to it after a while!”

“Leave me alone, Rose. I just want to get married,” Donna begged, and Rose bit her lip when she saw the ginger woman was near tears. “Ten past three, I’m gonna miss it.”

Rose opened her mouth to reply, but The Doctor had caught up to them, overhearing the conversation, and pitched in his own solution.

“Can’t you ring them? Tell them where you are?” He asked, and Donna rolled her eyes.

“With WHAT?” She shot back flatly.

“Haven’t you got a mobile?” He said it like it should have been obvious, and Rose didn’t bother to hide her groan as Donna stopped, looking back at him in disbelief.

“I'm in my wedding dress,” She said slowly, gesturing to herself. “It doesn't have _pockets_. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me **POCKETS**?!” Her voice raised back into a furious shout, and both Rose and The Doctor winced, though he at least had the grace to look sheepish.

“This man you're marrying, what's his name?” he asked, and Donna’s expression softened, a happy smile curling up her lips.

“Lance,” She replied, almost dreamily, and Rose smiled lightly, before she froze at The Doctor’s next words.

“Good luck, Lance,” He shot at her, and Donna stiffened, her expression souring.

“Doctor!” Rose chastised, shooting a glare at him herself. She could understand his frustration, but that definitely felt more than a little uncalled for. He winced slightly at the warning tone in her voice, but didn’t even get the chance to offer an apology.

“No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!” Donna shouted, turning on her heel to stalk away from him. Rose shook her head before following, leaving The Doctor to mumble feebly after them that he WASN’T from Mars. Honestly, why did humans enjoy jumping to that conclusion?

“Donna! Donna, wait! I’ve got a phone!” Rose called out as she rushed after the bride, who was trying to flag down a taxi, though none of them were giving her the time of day. She pulled her phone out from her inner pocket, having to dig a little with just how BIG they were. (Honestly, how did The Doctor find things so quickly?) before she pulled it out, offering it to Donna with a smile. “Sorry about The Doctor, he doesn’t mean to be a git.”

Donna took the phone quickly, flashing Rose a smile in return as she began to dial her mother’s number quickly. She let out a quiet groan of frustration when there didn’t seem to be an answer, and it moved straight to voicemail. “Mum, get off the phone and listen. I'm in... Oh, my God... I dunno where I am! It's... it's a street and there's WH Smith... but it's definitely Earth!”

As Donna spoke desperately into her phone, Rose took a moment to look around as she felt The Doctor stand up next to her, and she flashed him a quick smile, before she gestured out at the surroundings, to the Christmas lights hanging from store to store, the sights of Christmas trees and signs indicating the special ‘Xmas Sales’.

“Merry Christmas, Doctor,” Rose grinned impishly, her tongue touching the corner of her mouth, and he lit up in response.

“Oh! It’s Christmas is it? Brilliant!” The Doctor grinned back at Rose, though his gaze searched her face momentarily, as though searching for something. He knew Rose loved to spend Christmas with her family, and he’d willingly taken her back to see them before. Now, though – that just wasn’t possible. He wasn’t sure if she’d realised it yet, but…

“Of course it’s Christmas.” Donna piped up, closing Rose’s phone with a snap, before she handed it back over to her, shaking her head to indicate she hadn’t been able to reach her mother. “It’s Christmas Eve, actually.” She shot him a look, eyes roaming up and down in distaste. “Don’t have Christmas on Mars then? S’pose I’m not surprised.”

The Doctor let out a long-suffering sigh in response, pinching the bridge of his nose slowly, ignoring Rose’s quiet laughter beside him. “How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?” He asked instead, and Donna shook her head, looking around them for any signs of taxis.

“Can't bear it,” She confessed, distracted. “I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco; sunshine, lovely. Have either of you got any money?”

“Why’d you hate Christmas?” Rose asked in surprise, quickly searching her pockets quickly to try to find any sign of change or notes. She usually carried all kinds of currency on her person, mostly because she never knew where she’d end up. She couldn’t find any Earth money after searching for a few minutes, and shook her head apologetically. “Nothin’, sorry Donna.”

“It’s too cold, you’re expected to buy presents for everyone you know and their bloody great-aunt Betty, family Christmas dinners always end in arguments, everyone puts up their decorations MONTHS too early, and you just hear the SAME songs on the radio and in every shop you go into. I swear, if I hear Mariah Bloody Carey warbling ONE more time this year, I’m gonna pull my hair out!” Donna ranted, rolling her eyes with a scowl. “What’s to LIKE?”

“Oh, Mariah Carey,” Rose smiled slightly. “All I want for Christmas is you? I love that one. I used to listen to it every year with my mum when we hung up the decorations…” The Doctor looked at her quickly, but Rose didn’t seem to be lost in any grief. She seemed thoughtful, more than anything else, her smile still intact. Happy memories were better than sad ones, and The Doctor was glad she was using those memories to keep her afloat.

“Can’t stand it myself. Anyway, what about you, Martian Boy? Got any cash?” Donna asked, and The Doctor simply shook his head.

“Nope,” He offered, popping his p lightly.

“I could’ve told you that,” Rose smirked, pulling herself out of memory lane, and The Doctor elbowed her lightly in her side, prompting her to smile innocently at him.

“Useless, the pair of you!” Donna snapped, her shoulders stiffening. Watching them act all cutesy was getting her frustrated – she just wanted to get back to Lance and to get married. Turning on her heel, Donna stalked away from them, and The Doctor groaned quietly, prompting Rose to bite her bottom lip.

“Doctor?” She asked, looking up at him. “Is there any way you can get some money? I can keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t go off somewhere on her own.”

“Rose Tyler, are you asking me to do something _illegal_?” The Doctor asked, lips slowly spreading up into a grin. Rose groaned in response, lightly slapping his arm with a laugh, rolling her eyes.

“I’m just sayin’! You get the money from… somewhere, and I just won’t ask. We need to get Donna to her wedding, she’s really upset over this, and I bet her family’s really worried.” Rose pointed out, and The Doctor nodded, fishing in his suit pocket before pulling out his sonic.

“Right, I’ll get the money, you keep an eye on the blushing bride.” The Doctor instructed, before he turned on his heel and rushed over to the nearest ATM machine. Rose watched him go, her smile slowly fading as a tired sigh left her lips. She was doing her best to keep her mind on their adventure and she felt like she was doing a pretty good job so far. Christmas, though… Why did it have to be Christmas? She wasn’t ready to be surrounded by her favourite holiday without her family, and every little reminder of them hurt. She was sure that with time, the pain would fade, but it was much too soon.

“Focus, Tyler,” Rose mumbled to herself, trying to snap out of it. She held herself tall, pushing back her old memories behind a wall in her mind. John had taught her how to do it when they’d been training her telepathic skills. It wouldn’t keep the memories away forever, but it would allow her some time to keep her mind on the task at hand.

Turning, Rose caught sight of Donna trying to flag down another taxi, and she began to quickly run over to her. She grimaced as one taxi stopped next to her and she leaned over to quickly talk to the driver, blocking Rose’s view of him. Some kind of agreement was quickly reached, and Donna pulled open the back door, looking triumphant.

“DONNA! WAIT!” Rose cried out as she got into the car. Donna ignored her, and was ready to shut the door until Rose came up beside her, and leaned in slightly, sucking in some deep breaths. Donna stared at her, eyes slowly narrowing, but Rose simply grinned. ”Budge up.”

“Thought you didn’t wanna come with me?” Donna asked, but did as she was told, moving to the other end of the car as Rose slipped in and shut the door. The Doctor would just need to find them. If they were heading to the church, Rose would sure he’d find a way to get the TARDIS there.

“The Doctor will follow us,” Rose said simply in response, smiling pleasantly. “Listen, Donna, you can’t just appear on the TARDIS the way you did, it’s… not s’posed to be possible. The Doctor’s worried you might be in some kind of danger, so, I’m here to make sure you stay safe.”

“Danger,” Donna repeated with a small scoff as the car began to move. “The only danger I’m in is from getting an earache from my mum when I see her again. Oh, I can’t be bothered arguing now. Let’s just get to the church.”

“ **ROSE**!”

The sound of The Doctor’s voice prompted Rose to look up quickly, and she pulled down the window slightly as she saw him, staring after her with wide-eyes. Biting down on her bottom lip, she leaned out of the window slightly to shout out to him.

“Doctor! Find us at the church! I’ll see you there!” She called, flashing him a reassuring smile.

The Doctor shook his head quickly in response, stepping forward with panic clear in his eyes. “Rose! Get out of there! Get out of there _now_!”

The sound of his voice began to fade as the taxi moved further away from him, and Rose felt a spasm of unease in her stomach as he shouted something else she couldn’t quite hear. It hadn’t seemed like The Doctor was just being overprotective, like he’d been in the past when they got separated. He’d seemed… genuinely panicked. Biting on her thumbnail, Rose sat back in her seat and furrowed her eyebrows together, glancing at Donna as she fussed over her veil and her hair.

If they WERE in some kind of danger, Rose knew The Doctor wouldn’t be far behind them, but for now, she just needed to make sure Donna Noble remained _safe_.


	11. The Runaway Bride Part Two

As the line to the ATM finally dwindled, The Doctor wasted no time in rushing to it, glancing around briefly to ensure he wasn’t being watched. Once he noted that it was, indeed safe, he activated his sonic, forcing the machine to distribute a few notes. He took them, slipping them into his pockets before something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He paused, turning slowly, and every muscle in his body began to tense up as he saw a very familiar sight.

Three masked Santa's were walking towards him, playing trumpets. Their gait was slow and ominous, and The Doctor’s thoughts immediately flitted to Rose. They’d seen these before, last Christmas. _Pilot Fish_. The Doctor turned quickly, eyes wide, only to see Rose getting into the back seat of a taxi with Donna. That in itself would be fine, he supposed – he could always find them again. His eyes flitted to the driver, only for panic to set in.

He was a robot Santa.

“ROSE!” He shouted, immediately moving forward. Hadn’t she seen the robot in front seat? Surely she recognised it! She seemed to hear him, poking her head out of the window to flash him an apologetic smile.

“Doctor! Find us at the church! I’ll see you there!” She shouted, and he shook his head frantically as the taxi began to drive away.

“Rose! Get out of there! Get out of there now! THEY’RE PILOT FISH! The Driver! He’s a PILOT FISH!” He shouted after her as the taxi turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Running his fingers through his hair and making a mental note of the taxi’s licence plate, he turned back to the other robots, who were slowly moving their instruments towards him, ready to use them as weapons.

Thinking quickly, The Doctor pointed his sonic at the ATM, sending a torrent of money flying from the slot. Instantly, the crowd around him surged forward to try to catch some of the notes, and he took advantage of the chaos to turn and run as fast as he could for the TARDIS. She wasn’t quite up for travelling – still digesting whatever energy she’d accidentally taken in, but this was an emergency. He’d make it up to her later.

He pushed open the door, running over to the console, and began to flick up the levers to send them into flight, flinching only briefly when she sent a brief, frustrated zap to his fingertips, trying to deter him. This time, however, The Doctor wouldn’t be swayed, and he glared up at the time rotor.

“Rose is in trouble – We need to get to her and Donna, now!” He urged, darting to the left, twisting a knob, and the TARDIS shuddered in response. He knew his ship held a strong fondness towards Rose, one he hadn’t been able to figure out just yet, and he was certain she wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.

Proving him right, the TARDIS let out a soft groan, before forcing her systems to boot up. The Doctor let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and programmed the ship to lock onto Rose’s biodata. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just wait for them to reach their destination; he had to get them both to safety, which meant…

“Sorry old girl,” He muttered, knowing she wouldn’t like it. Still, he flicked a final switch, sending them into physical flight.

* * *

The way The Doctor had shouted her name still weighed heavily on Rose’s mind, and she gnawed on her bottom lip, wondering if it were too late to just open the doors and jump out. She discarded the idea immediately, though, knowing Donna wasn’t likely to follow her. Her gazed drifted over to the bride, who took off her veil, shaking her hair out with a relieved sigh.

“I promise you, mate, I'll give you the rest when we get there. Oh, I look a mess.” She ran her fingers unhappily through the red strands of her hair, trying to catch her breath, and Rose shot her a smile.

“Y’still look gorgeous, Donna, don’t worry.” She tried to reassure, and Donna scoffed slightly in response.

Rose’s gazed drifted to the driver briefly, trying to twist herself to get a look at his face, the suspicion inside of her brewing as she took note of the elaborate Santa outfit he was wearing. Most cabbie’s didn’t dress up in full costume; Christmas or not. Her suspicion began to swell into panic upon seeing what seemed to be a hint of a plastic mask over his face.

“Hold on a minute, I said Chiswick! You've missed the turning!”

Donna’s voice cut through the fog in her mind, and the taxi swerved violently onto the motorway, sending her body into Donna’s, who grimaced and hit her fists on the back of the cabbie’s chair.

“'Scuse me? We should've turned off back there. We're going the wrong way!” Upon receiving no answer, she swelled with anger, looking at Rose. “D’you believe this bloke? Is he deaf?! What the hell are you doing? I'm late for the wedding, my _own_ wedding. Do you get that?!”

“I don’t think it cares, Donna,” Rose bit out as the taxi swerved once more, and her fingers gripped the door handle, trying to push the door open, but, as expected, it was locked tight, and she grimaced, fighting back her panic. The Doctor would find them.

“What do you mean? Oi! Turn around! Turn this cab around right now!” Donna demanded, and lunged forward to pull at the cabbie’s hood in a desperate bid to get him to listen, but the movement pulled back the hood and caused the mask to slip off, revealing the robot underneath. Rose grimaced, her worst fears realised, and Donna fell back into her seat, her mouth open in soundless shock.

“Oh my God,” Donna breathed, and Rose could feel the fear radiating from her body. Her mind began to swim, thinking back to the last time she’d seen the robots. The Doctor had called them Pilot Fish… a sign that something bigger was coming. Her heart dropped down to her stomach, as Donna spoke again, tension rolling off of her in waves. “What th’hell do we do?”

“We get out,” Rose muttered, and turned, trying to open up the window with a grimace. She slammed her fist against it angrily as Donna began to shriek desperately, banging her palms against the opposite window to try to attract the attention of other drivers.

“HELP! Oh my god, HELP US!”

Turning in her seat, Rose felt her training from Torchwood begin to kick in as she tried to think up a way out. Wherever the robot wanted to take them, it couldn’t be good. Knowing it was risky, Rose gritted her teeth and dove forward over the front seat, grabbing the wheel and yanking it sharply, causing the car to swerve sharply over the lanes. Cars honked behind them, and Donna let out a shriek of fear, but Rose didn’t relent, using her other hand to shove the robot’s head against the driver’s seat window with her strength. The robot tried to twist the wheel out of her grip, but Rose hung on tightly, adrenaline pushing her onwards.

“What’re you DOIN’?!” Donna demanded, her hands suddenly wrapping around Rose, trying to pull her backwards.

“I’m tryin’ to get us OUT of this mess, Donna! Lemme go!” Rose shouted back, trying to wriggle out of the ginger’s grip.

“Not a chance!” Donna hissed, eyes blazing. “I’m not DYING on my WEDDING DAY!”

“Well we’re runnin’ out of options!” Rose huffed, her arms beginning to ache with the strain of holding onto the steering wheel. Her mind might be older, but her body definitely didn’t have the years of training she was so used in the other world. If she got out of this… that’d be something to work on.

Donna had been ready to bite back a sharp retort to the blonde, but the sound of a crash behind them caught her attention instead, and she turned, staring in disbelief at the sight of a blue police box flying down the M4. “…Maybe not,” She breathed, completely at a loss.

The disbelief in Donna’s voice drew Rose’s attention, and she quickly turned to peer over her shoulder, her eyes widening upon spotting the TARDIS. For a moment, in her adrenaline fuelled haze, she’d forgotten The Doctor would be on his way. She’d just grown used to doing things by herself that she’d really just entered another mindset. Still, the sight of the time ship hurtling towards them caused a huge smile to bloom on her lips.

“Doctor,” She breathed aloud, and taking advantage of her distraction, the robot Santa used one hand to force her to release the wheel, shoving her backwards into Donna, and back against the seats. Both women let out cries of indignation, but Rose scrambled to the door, palms pressing up against the window as the TARDIS began to fly beside them.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” She heard Donna mutter behind her, and she let out a laugh, her relief only growing as the door opened, and the Doctor appeared in the doorway, his eyes locking onto her immediately. Though she couldn’t hear him through the roar of the cars and the wind outside, she could see his lips form her name, and she tried to pull the window down the rest of the way, shaking her head violently as it stuck.

“It won’t open!” She shouted, and The Doctor didn’t hesitate to pull his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, pointing it at the taxi. Rose saw the tip light up, and one more pull at the window yielded results, allowing her to slide it down to the bottom.

“SANTA’S A ROBOT!” Donna shouted over her shoulder, and Rose winced, but didn’t take her eyes from him, though the wind stung her eyes.

“Rose, open the door!” The Doctor ordered, and Rose nodded, her fingers fumbling for the handle, though Donna was quick to demand why. “You’ve got to jump!”

“ I'm not bleedin' flip jumping, I'm supposed to be getting _married_!” Donna’s reply was shrill, and when Rose looked down at the road whizzing by, she had to admit, her stomach twisted with anxiety. She didn’t have the time to react, however, as the car began to speed up, and she turned to watch The Doctor slip away, steeling her resolve.

Trust in The Doctor.

“Donna, we need to jump,” Rose insisted, turning to look at the other woman, her eyes wide. “This might be our only chance, we can’t waste it! You just gotta trust The Doctor,” She flinched suddenly, touching her head as she felt a wave of dismay and pain shoot through her mind. Whatever The Doctor was doing to the TARDIS, she didn’t like it.

“I’m not jumping in on a motorway! I’m in my wedding dress!” Donna hissed, and Rose forced a grin on her lips, despite the way her heart pounded in her chest.

“Are you? I didn’ notice,” She turned before Donna could retort, seeing the TARDIS pull up beside them once more. Pushing open the door without hesitation, the wind blew it backwards, and she gripped the top of the car doorway to keep herself balanced, seeing The Doctor point his screwdriver at the robot, deactivating it.

“Rose!” He turned to look at her, opening up his arms immediately, trying to keep his own balance as the speed and wind rocked the TARDIS precariously. “Jump! I’ll catch you!”

Rose nodded once, taking a deep breath, but before she could force herself to leap, Donna grabbed her wrist, halting her suddenly in her tracks.

“Wait- Rose!” Donna breathed; her eyes wide and fearful. “You trust him? Like… really, properly trust him?”

Rose turned back to The Doctor, smiling despite her fear, “With my life,” She promised. The Doctor’s expression softened, the look in her eyes sending chills through his body. The strength of her trust in him… it frightened and terrified him all at once, and he forced himself back into the moment, desperation forcing him to reach out just a little further.

Donna’s grip on Rose’s wrist slackened, and Rose took that as the best chance she’d have, pushing herself forward in a jump into The Doctor’s arms. He caught her with ease, clutching him to her chest tightly, and she could feel his hearts pounding. She pushed herself out of his arms after a second, stumbling back into the TARDIS, jumping slightly when a shower of sparks rained down from the time rotor.

“Rose, get ready to press that button by your left, the minute Donna jumps!” The Doctor instructed, and Rose glanced down, nodding quickly, her hand hovering over the button.

“Righ’!”

The Doctor turned, opening up his arms for Donna, and seeing Rose jump seemed to have given her some encouragement. She sucked in a deep breath, steeling her nerves, and jumped into The Doctor’s arms with a shriek, sending the both of them topping down to the grating. Both winded, they stared at each other, but Rose hit the button, closing the TARDIS doors and sending the ship up into the sky once more.

Donna scrambled up onto her feet, stumbling back against a coral strut, pressing her hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath. The Doctor jumped up, rushing over to the console, trying to find somewhere for the ship to land as smoke began to pour out from within. He glanced quickly at Rose, looking her over.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly, itching to pull her into a hug and just hold her there. He’d come too close to losing her twice now, and his nerves were on edge. The light glow surrounding her timelines wasn’t helping his state of mind, and when Rose nodded, shooting him a smile, he forced himself to relax. “Always wandering off… You just can’t stay put, can you?” He shook his head, and Rose flashed him her famous tongue touched grin.

“Wouldn’ be any fun otherwise, would it?” She quipped, and The Doctor shook his head, only to step back as the level of the smoke began to rise. He felt a warning nudge the back of his mind, and he picked up a fire extinguisher. Clearly, the TARDIS wanted them all out whilst she rested.

“Right! Everyone out!” He instructed, and Donna didn’t hesitate, opening up the doors and stepping out onto the top of a London building. She shook her head, not even bothering to ask, and looked down at her watch, her shoulders slumping when she saw what time it was. She’d missed it.

“The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying.” The Doctor confessed as he stepped out of the TARDIS, brandishing his fire extinguisher, and Rose gently rubbed the wooden framing of the door, lifting her eyebrows at him.

“Are you tryin’ to say she’s out of shape?” She smirked, shaking her head. “Rude. I think she was brilliant.” She heard a tired but grateful hum from the ship, and she grinned as The Doctor pulled a sour face at her, tossing the extinguisher back inside.

“Of course she was brilliant… but we'd better give her a couple of hours.”

The pair turned to look at Donna, who was staring forlornly out in the distance. Rose hesitated before she stepped up beside her, noticing the expression on her face, feeling bad for her. This was supposed to be the best day of her life, but it was shaping up pretty poorly.

“I’m sorry,” She offered, and Donna shook her head, smiling blithely.

“You can always book another date,” The Doctor pointed out quietly, hands in his pockets.

“Course we can,” Donna agreed, and there was no more bite or anger in her words, she just seemed tired and resigned.

“Still got the honeymoon,” The Doctor tried, searching for the bright side, and Rose smiled faintly at him, despite Donna’s rebuffal.

“Sorry,” The Doctor offered instead, finally seeming to understand there really wasn’t much that he could say to make it better.

“It’s not your fault. Either of you,” Donna sighed, shaking her head.

“Oh! That's a change!” Rose elbowed The Doctor in the side for that, but Donna ignored them, lips slightly pursed.

“Wish we had a time machine,” She murmured wistfully, missing the looks passed between the other two. “Then we could go back and get it right.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, The Doctor nodded stiffly. “... Yeah, yeah.” He hesitated. “But... even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently.”

“ _Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time_ ,” Rose quipped, and The Doctor shot her a delighted grin in response, oblivious to the way Donna eyed them both suspiciously.

“Oh, nice one!”

Their banter felt comfortable to Rose – it felt safe, and The Doctor’s smile warmed her inside as Donna moved to sit on the edge of the roof. She followed her, sitting down beside her with ease, letting her feet dangle and watching the people below. There was a winter chill in the air, and as Rose opened her mouth to ask if Donna was cold, The Doctor beat her to the punch, draping his jacket over her shoulders before he sat down beside Rose.

“God, you’re skinny. This wouldn’t fit a rat.”

Donna’s scathing tone lacked any true bite to it, and Rose couldn’t stop herself from laughing, prompting The Doctor to narrow his eyes at her in response.

“Yeah, thanks for that, Donna. You better put this on.” He pulled out what looked to be a plain silver wedding band, and rose lifted her eyebrows slightly, shooting The Doctor an almost reproachful look. Honestly. He really did lack tact, didn’t he?

“Oh, do you have to rub it in?” Donna asked, sighing slightly, crossing her arms over her chest, looking away from him for a moment.

“You should know by now he’s a bit of a git when it comes to people’s feelings,” Rose offered in a quip, lightly elbowing The Doctor in the side, and he simply rolled his eyes by way of response to the comment.

“Those creatures can trace you,” he warned, shaking his head faintly. “This is a bio-damper, it should keep you hidden.” He reached across Rose as best as he could, taking Donna’s hand and slipping the ring onto her ring finger. “With this ring, I thee bio-damp.”

“For better or worse,” Donna muttered with a half smile, looking down at her hand, before letting out a long sigh, steeling herself. There wasn’t much she could do now – but she WAS curious about why she and Rose had been effectively kidnapped by a robot. “So, come on then, robot Santas, what are they for?”

“They’re pilot fish,” Rose pointed out, her gaze moving over to the distance, where she knew the Powell Estate lay. It hadn’t been her home for seven years now, really.. but.. still. It felt odd, to know it was so close, yet there was.. nothing really there for her any longer. The things she’d really wanted to keep, she’d put in the pockets of her jacket, and everything else important she had given to her mum. “They’re scavengers, basically. We’ve met ‘em before.”

“Last Christmas,” The Doctor agreed. “The Santa thing is just a disguise, really, an attempt at blending in.”

“What happened last Christmas?” Donna asked, and The Doctor shot her an incredulous look, whereas Rose simply blinked at them, curious. Oh – right. She’d come back in time – the Sycorax situation felt like it had happened.. so long ago for her. Grounding herself in the present was going to be difficult – but worth it.

“Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?” The Doctor asked, and Donna merely shrugged her shoulders.

“Had a bit of a hangover,” she offered by way of explanation, and The Doctor blew out a breath, glancing over to where Rose herself had been looking not long ago.

“We spent Christmas Day just over there, at the Powell Estate,” He mused, before he seemed to freeze, and glanced at Rose, apologetic. “Still, you know- it’s.. a while ago, now.” He looked down, feeling like an idiot for bringing it up at all, but Rose simply offered him a smile, reaching out to gently take his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“That’s where my mum used to live.. and my best mate, Mickey.” She offered by way of explanation. She was glad her voice seemed steady. It would be hard, not seeing her mum every day, but she knew that she’d be well taken care of, at least. She’d have Tony, and somehow, that was enough.

“You said you lost your family, but that they were safe.. what does that mean? Can’t you just go and visit them again?” Donna asked, shifting her body

Rose sighed, but offered Donna a mix between a smile and a grimace. She didn’t even know where to begin explaining. “It’s.. a long story,”

“Question is,” The Doctor broke in, moving to run a hand through his hair, attempting to deflect the conversation. “What do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know. What's your job?” he asked, motioning for Rose to look in his coat jacket pocket.

“I'm a secretary.” Donna replied, watching in some confusion as Rose shrugged but did what she was asked, pulling out the sonic screwdriver from the pocket he had gestured to, handing it over to The Doctor, who immediately leaned across Rose to attempt to scan Donna.

“It's weird,” He muttered, shaking his head slightly. “I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important...”

“Doctor!” Rose’s words were sharp, breaking the Time Lord out of his diatribe, and he looked at Rose in bewilderment, who glared at him, giving him a little shove to the side, so he wasn’t leaning on her. “D’you ever actually think before you speak?” She knew, of course, that when The Doctor was presented with a mystery he could get like this, ranting about how inferior humans could be. Usually, she’d just let him off with a light warning, but… Donna Noble, the most important woman in the universe.. She’d had such low self esteem when Rose had first met her in that alternate timeline, and even beyond that. This certainly wouldn’t help her confidence by any means.

“What?” The Doctor asked, bemused, looking from an irritated looking Donna to a stern looking Rose.

“I bet you didn’t think I was clever or important or special when you first met me. You thought I was just some stupid ape who sat at home eating beans on toast.” Rose pointed out, and understanding suddenly dawned on The Doctor’s face, and he had the grace to at least look sheepish.

“No – I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” He tried to hurriedly correct himself, shaking his head. “I just --- sorry.”

“It’s a good job she hit you, or I would’a done it for her,” Donna offered by way of retaliation, snorting slightly, looking away and setting her jaw, but there was no real ire in her tone, and The Doctor took that as a sign to continue with the line of questioning.

“What kind of secretary?” he asked, turning the sonic screwdriver over in his hand to check the readings he’d managed to gather from scanning Donna.

“I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance.” Donna offered, and there was a softening to her gaze that made Rose smile. A part of her wondered if this would even work out for her. She’d never heard of Lance, and though granted, she hadn’t known Donna THAT well, surely she would’ve heard of a husband. Still, she clearly loved him, and that was enough reason for Rose to be happy for her. “I was temping. I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought I'm never going to fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me. But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him. One cup of coffee. That was it.” Donna let out a happy sigh, and Rose grinned at her playfully.

“When was this?” The Doctor asked, and Donna shrugged before she answered.

“Six months ago.”

“Six months and you’re already getting married? Talk abou’ a whirlwind romance. My mum woulda’ killed me if I did that,” Rose laughed, shaking her head.

“Well, he insisted. And he nagged, and he nagged me. And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in.” Donna offered lightly, and Rose bit her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud, not wanting Donna to take it badly. She just.. had a hard time imagining that Donna could be nagged into anything. She chanced a glance at The Doctor, and the faint smirk on his face suggested his thoughts were similar.

“What does HC Clements do?” he asked, deciding not to comment, just in case Rose aimed another elbow at his stomach.

“Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths.” Donna offered dismissively, and The Doctor let out a thoughtful hum.

“Keys.”

“Idea?” Rose asked, and The Doctor shook his head slightly. He didn’t have anything yet, but he’d figure it out.

“Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences.” Donna let out a long sigh, leaning her head back for a moment. “Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy.”

“Yeah. I'm not from Mars.” The Doctor countered, lifting his eyebrows slightly, but moved to stand up, offering a hand to help Rose stand.

Rose took it, using him to pull herself to stand, and shot The Doctor a small but cheeky grin. “But keep calling him that, it’s nice to see his ego get cut down to size once in a while.”

“Oi!” The Doctor huffed, moving to offer Donna his hand, too, narrowing his eyes at Rose, though he couldn’t be too angry. Seeing her smiling again left him too relieved. Donna pulled herself up with The Doctor’s help, pulling his jacket from her shoulders and holding it out to him. He took it gladly, pulling it back on as Donna let out a loud sigh.

“Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken.” She muttered, dejected, but began to walk towards the exit to the roof. Rose watched her go for a minute, before she looked at The Doctor, unable to keep herself from smiling as he took her hand with ease. There was a warmth in her at that. Every time their hands met, the slight emptiness that still lingered in her mind eased more and more.

Rose wasn’t entirely sure how their journey would play out from now, she only knew of a few major upcoming events as the memories that John shared with her had faded from her mind. Still, as long s she was by The Doctor’s side, there was nothing that she couldn’t accomplish.


	12. The Runaway Bride Part Three

With the money The Doctor had been able to obtain, getting another taxi (sans a robot Santa) was relatively easy. Arriving to the church, however, Donna was turned away by a bemused priest, who informed her the rest of the wedding party had already ‘moved on’ to another location. Rose could sense Donna’s ire, and had a feeling that things were not going to go well.

Donna’s irritation only seemed to grow as they reached the wedding reception hall, and Rose grimaced as she could already hear ‘Merry ChristmasEverybody’ echoing from the hall. She shared a glance with The Doctor, who raised his eyebrows in response, and followed after the clearly fuming red-head. Ah, this was sure to be… interesting.

It just didn’t make _sense_. Rose glanced around at all of the wedding guests and Donna’s family members as they entered the room, seeing how happy they all looked, how they all danced and laughed, as though nothing was wrong at all. Rose knew that if she’d disappeared on her wedding day, her mother would’ve torn London apart in order to find out what happened to her. Well, John too, actually. He would’ve likely torn apart the entire universe in order to find her. It seemed like Donna’s family, however, just… didn’t care at all.

Donna herself seemed to come to that realization, as she stood, glaring at everyone dancing. After a moment, everyone seemed to notice her, and the shock on their faces would have almost been laughable, if the situation wasn’t so awful.

“You had the reception without me?” Donna asked in disbelief, as a man Rose could only assume was the groom, stumbled forward in the front of the crowd.

“Donna, what happened to you?” He asked, at least having the decency to look semi-sheepish, considering he’d just been dancing with another woman only seconds earlier.

“You had the reception without me?” Donna repeated, her annoyance only rising, and Rose glanced to the side as The Doctor pointedly leaned forward with a cheery smile.

“Hello. I'm the Doctor!” He offered, and Rose lightly hit him on the arm, shaking her head at him. Honestly, he really wasn’t helping things, and Donna seemed to think so too, turning to look at them both, clearly irritated.

“They had the reception _without_ me.” She repeated once more, and Rose offered her a sympathetic glance. She’d be upset too, given the circumstances.

The Doctor’s eyebrows shot upward at that. “Yes, I gathered.”

“I’m sorry, Donna,” Rose offered instead, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, only to glance over at the blonde woman who quickly spoke up with a snide comment about everything already being paid for. She narrowed her eyes even further as who she could only assume was Donna’s mother piped up with a comment of her own.

“Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end. I'm on Earth? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick, because I'd love to know!” She demanded, and Rose couldn’t help surge of protectiveness that rose up inside of her as everyone began to demand answers from Donna all at once. Perhaps it was simply because she’d been an older sister in another life, but Rose moved forward, stepping away from The Doctor in favour of wrapping an arm around Donna’s shoulders.

“Would you all just SHUT UP?!” She demanded as loudly as she could, prompting the heckling crowd to fall silent for a moment, startled by the interruption. “She goes missing on her wedding day, comes back to find out you’re all acting like it doesn’t even matter if she’s okay or where she is, and you’ve got the nerve to yell at HER over it? You should be ashamed of yourselves, all of ya!”

“Who are you even supposed to be, exactly? I don’t like being told what to do by some random tart that Donna found on the street!” Sylvia snapped in response, though she did look the tiniest bit flustered. The Doctor found himself offended by the remark, and almost moved to step forward to defend her, but Rose cut him off before he even had the chance.

“Funny how some random tart cares more about how she feels than her own family do,” She shot back, glaring at her. As though on cue, Donna let out a sob, covering her mouth and ducking her head, more sobs quickly following. Rose turned to her in concern as the crowd let out soft coos of sympathy, Lance moving to embrace her. Rose stepped back, worried that she’d crossed a line, only to pause as she noticed that Donna actually wasn’t crying at all.

“Oh, she’s good,” Rose muttered quietly as Donna turned her head to shoot the two of them a little wink. “She’s _really_ good.”

The Doctor smirked as Donna’s family flocked around her, applauding the happy couple and how ‘sweet’ the reunion was. “Too good, I think. It was nice of you to stick up for her like that.” He wasn’t surprised, of course – Rose’s compassion never knew any limits. She would always stick up for what she thought was right, consequences be damned.

“Someone had to. If I went missing on my wedding day, mum would’ve been a terror, and she’d slap anyone who tried to get in her way of finding me,” Rose offered in response, letting out a short laugh. She moved away from the dance floor in order to lean against the bar, and The Doctor quickly followed suit. “I mean, you should know all about that, right Doctor?” Her smile was mischievous, and The Doctor solemnly rubbed his cheek, as though remembering a past pain.

“Definitely not a mistake I’d want to make again,” He agreed, though he glanced at her, checking her reaction. Mentioning her mother so soon after saying goodbye to her… It had been brought up twice now, and she seemed _okay_ , at least. But… Was she just staying strong? She’d been so broken up about her mother before…

_You had it all figured out somehow, didn’t you?_

Jackie’s words… he couldn’t shake them. Rose had known something, enough to leave her mother a letter and a bag full of momentos, it seemed. None of it made any _real_ sense, and in a small way, he was glad to have the distraction from it all. Rose had developed a sort of evasiveness lately, and coupled with the shift in her timelines, well; it worried him.

A good old adventure was just what he needed to shake himself out of his confusion and frustration, at least. That thought in itself was enough to bring his mind back to the situation at hand – how did Donna end up in the TARDIS? Why was she being hunted?

“Have you got your phone?” He asked suddenly, and Rose glanced up, but didn’t question him, pulling out her mobile from one of her pockets, holding it out. He slipped on his ‘brainy specs’ and Rose couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Little things like that made her stomach flutter… made her feel as though she were home.

“What are you doing?” She asked, peering over his shoulder curiously as he typed out the name of Donna’s workplace on the internet, and pressed his sonic to the screen, starting an immediate, rapid fire search. It moved too fast for Rose to follow, so she simply averted her gaze up to The Doctor’s face, instead.

“There’s got to be some reason Donna was pulled onto the TARDIS, some sort of link that could explain it. I’m not sure what it might be just yet, but HC Clements is a good starting point, I think.” The Doctor offered by way of explanation, only to fall silent as the words ‘Sole Proprietor: Torchwood’ appeared on the screen.

Of course. Of _COURSE_ Torchwood were involved in all of this. He didn’t know why he should be surprised. So soon after Canary Wharf… it was like an insult, a slap in the face, and he closed the phone with a snap, his expression grim.

Rose, for her part, was quiet, and she let out a long, slow breath. She held no anger towards Torchwood any longer, after all, she’d spent several years working and building her way up in the Torchwood in Pete’s world. That didn’t mean it didn’t sting, though. After all, if it wasn’t for Torchwood, then she might still have her mother. She never would have had to leave her behind.

“Suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised that they’re involved in all of this, seems like they were involved in some pretty dodgy stuff anyway, right?” Rose asked, taking her phone from The Doctor and slipping it back into her pocket.

“They just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could they?” The Doctor pulled off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing his fingers along his eyes with a heavy sigh. He focused his attention on Rose then, concerned. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Doctor. I just… Let’s make sure Donna’s safe, yeah? Everything else can come later.” Rose countered quietly.

The Doctor looked like he was about to argue, but Rose shook her head, focusing instead on a man with a camera nearby, filming the dancing and the merriment. An idea came to her then, and she gestured over towards him with a hand.

“Reckon he caught anything interesting? A disappearin’ bride or two?” She asked, and The Doctor turned to look, before he let out a short puff of air at the question.

“Brilliant! Though, I really hope it’s just the _one_ , not sure I could handle another Donna,” he admitted, and Rose let out a laugh in response, shaking her head with a grin.

“I like her, honestly.” She admitted, looking up to watch Donna as she danced with Lance, finally laughing and having a fun time. It did seem as though it were too soon to meet her, but then again, she didn’t know just how long Donna had travelled with The Doctor. He still had Martha to meet too, judging from what she could remember.

Without John’s memories from the bond to help guide her, things were bound to be a little more _complicated_ than she’d initially expected. Not know what was coming made things a little nerve-wracking, but at the same time, it was almost a relief. Knowing how the battle of canary wharf would turn out had been incredible anxiety-inducing, and being able to just run with things and see where events would take them was like taking a deep breath of fresh air.

She followed The Doctor as he made his way over to the camera-man, requesting to look at the footage he’d caught of the wedding, and peered over his shoulder as he re-wound the recording to the right moment, turning the screen of the camera so they could see it.

“I taped the whole thing. They've all had a look,” He said, a droll smile on his face. “They said sell it to You've Been Framed. I said, more like the _News_. Here we are...”

Rose watched in some fascination as the recording began to play, showing Donna with a smile walking down the aisle, only to begin to glow gold and scream, disappearing into thin air. There was something _familiar_ about it, and from the way The Doctor immediately tensed, she had a feeling he felt the same way.

“Can't be. Play it again?” He requested quietly, leaning forward in order to get a better look.

“Clever, mind. Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping.” The camera man snorted, re-playing the clip as requested. The Doctor’s frown only grew, and he glanced at Rose, who lifted her eyebrows at him in response.

“What’re you thinkin’?” She asked, and let out a breath. “It almost looks familiar, somehow, like… I dunno.”

“It looks like Huon Particles.” The Doctor said simply, before he looked sharply at Rose once more. “What do you mean it looks familiar?” There was a surge of panic beginning to rise up within him, and he didn’t like it. The golden glow, the link to the TARDIS… it was too reminiscent of BAD WOLF, but Rose wasn’t supposed to remember that… any of it. Yet, she could remember destroying the Dalek emperor. If those memories were coming back, somehow…

“I dunno, it just… feels like I know what that is. What _are_ Huon particles, anyway?” Rose asked, shrugging off the initial question to focus on the task at hand. The Doctor wasn’t best pleased, but he had to focus on Donna. Right now, she was the one in immediate danger.

“They’re impossible, and they’re ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years.” He explained, before a realization seemed to dawn upon him, and his eyes widened. “So old that it can't be hidden by a biodamper!”

The Doctor turned on his heel and ran for the nearest window, heading out of the reception hall with Rose hot on his heels. Robot Santa’s were slowly marching towards them, and Rose didn’t hesitate a moment longer before she turned and sprinted back towards Donna, The Doctor only pausing for a second before he moved right along behind her.

“Donna! We need to get out of here!” Rose called out as she reached the other woman, lightly holding onto her arm, pulling her slightly away from Lance to look at her, and Donna seemed confused.

“What? What’re you talkin’ about?” She asked, and The Doctor moved up behind Rose.

“They found you, the bio-damper doesn’t work. We’ve got to get everyone out.” He offered quickly, by way of explanation. There was no real time to get into it, and he turned, gesturing towards a set of doors nearby. “Out the back door!” He ordered, and the three of them quickly rushed towards them, pushing them open, only to stumble to a stop at the sight of two more robots inching closer towards them.

The Doctor immediately closed the doors, pushing the women backwards with a hurried; “Maybe not!” He turned to run to another window, grimacing as he realized that they were well and truly surrounded. There was no way to get out of here now.

“We’re trapped,” Donna gasped, looking between The Doctor and Rose,

“Isn’t there some way to de-active them?” Rose asked, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as she watched one of the robots slowly raise up what seemed to be a remote control device.

“Maybe,” The Doctor replied suddenly, before something seemed to strike him, and he turned to stare at the trees in the reception area with wide eyes. “Christmas trees,” He realized, looking to Rose, who immediately understood, her mouth falling open in horrified realization. The trees had almost killed Mickey, her mum and her one Christmas.

“What about them?” Donna asked, and Rose’s fingers moved to her belt almost instinctively, reaching for a gun it no longer held.

“They can kill. Last year, the robots almost killed me and my family using a Christmas Tree,” Rose hurriedly explained, before she rushed forward, immediately wanting to save as many civilians as she possibly could. “Get away from the trees!”

The Doctor and Donna immediately joined in, ushering as many people as they could away from the trees, much to everyone’s clear confusion. Rose gently ushered a bunch of children away from touching the decorations, wanting them in particular to be as safe as they possibly could be. While she wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice herself for the sake of a child again, she didn’t want that to be necessary.

Donna’s mother let out an annoyed huff as Donna tried to push her backwards, rolling her eyes. “Oh, for God's sakes, the pair of them are idiots. Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to... _Oh.”_ Sudden awe filled her voice, and Rose turned, feeling immediately apprehensive, and for good reason.

The baubles on the tree had started to float in the air, turning slowly. They hovered aimlessly for a moment, and Rose watched them closely, stood protectively in front of the children, who were trying to peer around her in excitement. The suspense didn’t last for too long, though, and as the first baubles dropped to the floor, causing huge explosions and immediately prompting pandemonium, Rose acted instinctively, turning and shielding the now screaming children with her body.

“EVERYONE, GET DOWN! UNDER THE TABLES, QUICKLY!”

She ushered the hysterical children down, directing them to hide underneath the tables for their own safety. Though panicking, they did what they were told, though some of them were crying in fright. Rose covered her head as another bauble exploded close by.

“ _ROSE!”_

The Doctor’s frantic cry was enough to force Rose to lift her head, and she pushed herself into a crouched standing position, looking around wildly through the smoke and the dust of the debris, and the frantic, screaming crowd. _Where was he?_

“Doctor!”

She longed to crawl forward, to try to find him, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave the children unattended. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to. She spotted The Doctor emerging from the dust, looking around frantically, and he squinted to try to find her, the panic evident in his eyes. He’d already come too close to losing her, and he wasn’t about to let that happen for a second time. Rose ducked slightly as another explosion occurred close by, The Doctor taking refuge behind the DJ booth.

She tried to peek out, wanting to find some glimpse of Donna, but her eyes locked onto The Doctor instead, and as his own eyes found her, she could see the relief that washed over him. He looked away after a moment, and Rose followed his gaze, spotting the robot Santa’s stood in a line in the middle of the dance floor.

The Doctor stood up straight once he realised no more baubles were exploding, staring down the robots with barely concealed anger.

“Oi! Santa!” He called out, pulling his sonic out of his pocket. “Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near the sound system.” He turned the sonic upside down, sticking it into one of the ports on the speakers, and immediately, a high pitched noise echoed out across the room. The screeching prompted Rose to covered her ears, cringing at the sound and sensation.

The robots clearly didn’t like the sound either, convulsing in place, their bodies jerking and moving erratically, before piece by piece, they began to fall apart. Eventually, The Doctor removed the sonic, and the sound mercifully stopped.

Slowly, Rose uncovered her ears, and pushed herself to stand up, only to find The Doctor’s arms around her immediately. She returned the hug tightly, clinging to him as Donna’s family and friends began to emerge from their hiding spots.

“Are you okay?” The Doctor asked after a moment, pulling back from her in order to get a look at her face, and she offered him a small grin.

“Coulda’ done with a warning, but I'm alright.” She teased, playfully giving her ear a rub, and he shot her a small smirk in response, some of the tension in his shoulders easing up.

“Had to keep you on your toes somehow! C’mon!” He turned, heading over to the fallen robots, and bent down, beginning to fiddle with the electronics and his screwdriver. Rose could only watch him, a small smile on her face. While she didn’t enjoy that Donna was in danger, being with The Doctor, when there was a mystery to solve and adventure to be had… it was an indescribable feeling.

“Look at that...” The Doctor called out, holding up the remote control they’d seen in the hand of one of the robots, before picking up one of the robot’s heads. “Remote control for the decorations, but there's a second remote control for the robots. They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession.”

“Pilot fish always mean somethin’ bigger is comin’ anyway, right?” Rose asked, folding her arms, and The Doctor nodded once.

“Never mind all that. You're a doctor, people have been hurt.” Donna’s voice caught Rose by surprise, and she turned to look at the red-head, checking her over quickly to make sure she wasn’t injured. She seemed fine, shaken, but okay.

“Nah, they wanted you alive,” The Doctor dismissed, shaking his head slightly, tossing one of the baubles over towards Donna, who fumbled but caught it. “Look, they’re not active now.”

“All the same, you could help!”

“Got to think of the bigger picture.” The Doctor replied, holding up the robot’s head against his ear, listening. “There's still a signal! Rose, come on!” he jumped to his feet immediately, taking off running for the doors, and Rose only glanced back at Donna once with a smile, before she took off running after him.

* * *

Rose had a feeling that Donna would follow after them, and she had been proven right, as Donna was close on their heels as they left the reception hall.

“There's someone behind this, directing the roboforms.” The Doctor explained, his gaze fixed on his sonic, turning slowly to try to get a link to the signal where it was coming from. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and Donna watched him, her confusion only growing.

“But why is it me? What have I done?” She demanded, and The Doctor let out a thoughtful hum.

“If we find the controller, we'll find that out.” He explained, before he brightened, the signal seeming to grow stronger as he held his sonic up to the sky. “Ooo.. It's up there. Something in the sky.” He noted, and Rose let out a long suffering sigh, though there was a smile pulling at her lips.

“Aliens, then? Always aliens at Christmas, eh?” She teased, and The Doctor smirked, though he didn’t look away from the readings he was getting from the sonic as ambulances began to pull up, and people began to stumble and limp out of the reception hall in order to get aid.

“I think i’ve had my fill of bloody martians, thank you very much,” Donna retorted, rubbing her temples slightly as The Doctor suddenly frowned. Lance came up behind the group, looking both curious and wary, and somewhat shaken by what had just happened.

“I've lost the signal.” The Doctor admitted. “Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started.” He turned to look at the groom to be, and his expression brightened slightly. “Lance! Is it Lance? Lance, can you give us a lift?” He asked.

“What? A lift where? Who are you exactly?” Lance demanded to know, looking between the three of them with a look in his eye that Rose couldn’t quite place.

“Don’t ask so many bloomin’ questions, just get in the car, Lance!” Donna demanded, and Lance’s expression soured, but he moved over to his car, unlocking it for the group to pile inside.

Donna and Lance sat in silence for the most part, with the groom-to-be seemingly bemused by the whole thing, and Rose and The Doctor were cramped in the back together, with The Doctor still scanning the robot head, his mind moving a mile a minute.

“I just don’t understand how Torchwood fit into all this,” Rose admitted after a moment, keeping her voice low so only The Doctor could hear her. “I mean, I know they’re fond of nicking alien technology, but if huon particles are s’posed to be that old and impossible to find, how did they get more of ‘em? How’d they even get inside Donna?”

The Doctor merely frowned in response.

“That’s the million pound question here. It wouldn’t be impossible to re-create huon particles, theoretically, but to do that you’d need the knowledge of how they work, which leads me to believe Torchwood are definitely not the only ones involved. I don’t even think they’re really behind it, they’re just a foothold for something else. They may have been.. once, but they’re long gone now.”

“Do you think some part of Torchwood might’ve lasted? Or d’you think someone else just took control when it all fell apart?” Rose asked, and The Doctor simply shrugged in response.

“I’m not sure… not yet. Here we go!” He pushed open the door immediately as the car came to a stop, and Rose scrambled out after him, following him as he ran towards the office doors, Lance and Donna close behind them. “To you lot this might just be a locksmiths, but H C Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute,” he explained on the way, rushing into one of the offices and heading to the nearest computer.

“Who are they?” Donna asked, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

The Doctor shared a look with Rose, and she simply offered him a short nod in response.

“They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf,” He explained, and there was a darkness in his voice that Rose knew all too well, and she stepped beside him, resting her hand on his arm gently. A balm in the heat of his anger.

“It’s… how I lost my mum,” Rose explained, her voice quiet. The Doctor’s eyes glanced to her, checking she was okay, and Donna was instantly sympathetic, moving over to take hold of Rose’s hand in a show of solidarity. Rose offered Donna a smile, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I don’t know what that was, but.. I’m sorry.” She offered, and The Doctor immediately looked nonplussed.

“Did you not see the skies over London, full of Daleks?” He asked in disbelief, and Donna tilted her head, before something seemed to dawn on her.

“Oh, I was in Spain.”

“They… had cybermen in Spain.”

“Scuba diving.” Donna offered, as though that were the only logical conclusion. Rose bit back a smile at the look at The Doctor’s face as he stood up straight and moved past Lance.

“That big picture, Donna, you keep missing it.”

He moved over to another computer and began to type, hitting the top of the screen as he spoke, and Rose shook her head fondly. Always hitting things..

“Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation.” He admitted, and Donna peered over his shoulder, trying to see what he was working on.

“But what do they want with me?”

Taking a breath, The Doctor stood up, looking at her seriously as he began to explain. “Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem, because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark Times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is... a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS.” His voice was quiet, and Rose looked up sharply as he mentioned the TARDIS, noting how he refused to even glance at her as he said it. Then… the reason the glow was so familiar to her... “See? That's what happened. Say, that's the Tardis, and that’s you,” He picked up a mug and a pencil to use as visual tools.

“The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and whap!” He shook both the mug and the pencil, dropping the pencil into the mug as he did so. “You were pulled inside the TARDIS.”

“I’m a pencil in a mug?” Donna asked in disbelief, and The Doctor gave her a brief grin in response.

“Yes you are, 4H, sums you up!” He announced, before moving to another computer, scanning it quickly with his sonic. “Lance! What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?”

“I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager. Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?” Lance demanded, watching The Doctor, a hint of anger in his voice.

“Alrigh’, no need to get testy,” Rose lifted her eyebrows slightly at the defensive note in the man’s tone. Huh. _Weird_. She didn’t exactly have the best feeling about this guy, but then again, he hardly seemed _trustworthy_ , dancing with another woman while his wife-to-be was missing. Lance shot her a small glare, and Rose simply narrowed her eyes at him response.

Ignoring the brief interaction between them, The Doctor kept his focus on the computers in front of him. “They make keys, that's the point.” He said simply, watching as a plan of the building appeared on the screen. “And look at this. We're on the third floor.”

“What’s your point?” Rose asked, tilting her head, and The Doctor stood, gesturing for them to follow him as he headed for the closest lift.

“I noticed it on our way up. Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes? Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked lower basement?” He stepped forward after the doors opened, nodding to the button in question, Rose stepping in behind him. “There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So what's down there, then?”

“Not a bitchy trampoline, I hope.” Rose quipped, and The Doctor smirked in response, turning his sonic over in his fingers.

“Ah, yes, I’d like to keep you from having your mind and body taken over if I can, that’d be brilliant, so no wandering off, you.” He warned, and Rose’s eyes became large and innocent.

“Me? Wander off? Doctor! I’d never!” She pressed a hand to her chest, defensive, and the two of them shared a quick giggle, before Lance interrupted them, and Rose shot him a small annoyed glare.

“Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?” He asked, and the disbelief was clear in his voice. The Doctor simply looked at him, before speaking in a voice that indicated he thought Lance was a bit slow on the uptake.

“No, I'm _showing_ you this building's got a secret floor.”

“It needs a key,” Donna pointed out, and Rose scoffed.

“The Doctor doesn’t,” She said, and to prove her point, The Doctor pointed his sonic at the button, unlocking it so they could take the life down.

“Right then. Thanks, you two. Rose and I can take it from here! See you later.” The Doctor turned to face them, taking hold of Rose’s hand with ease. Donna let out a soft noise, immediately picking up her skirts to join them on the lift.

“No chance, Martian. You two are the ones who keep saving my life. I ain't letting neither of you out of my sight.” She informed them, turning with a huff, expression set in determination. The Doctor glanced at Rose, lifting up his eyebrows and prompting her to fight back a smile.

“Lance?” Donna asked, and Rose wanted to snort at how fidgety the other man looked.

“Maybe I should go to the police...” He offered meekly, but Donna wasn’t having any of it.

“Inside!”

Grimacing, Lance joined them in the lift, making it a tighter squeeze, and Rose pressed her back against the lift wall as best as she could. The Doctor, meanwhile, leaned forward to mutter to Lance (whilst making no effort to be quiet) “To honour and obey?” and received a jab in the stomach from Rose’s elbow for his trouble.

“Tell me about it, mate.” Lance mumbled bitterly.

“Oi!” Donna snapped in response as the lift began to descend.

Down into the unknown. Rose was uncertain what they’d find, but as the lift moved closer, she couldn’t help the sinking feeling in her stomach. There was something… strange underground here. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but she could feel it, almost like a pull at her very core.

Suddenly, this all felt like a bad idea.


	13. The Runaway Bride Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while to get up! It's significantly longer than the other chapters, as I'm sure you'll see, so I hope that makes up for it! I was tempted to split it into another extra chapter, but there didn't seem like a good point to do it that wouldn't leave the next chapter ridiculously small. 
> 
> So, I hope this longer chapter suffices!

As the doors to the lift opened on the lower basement floor, the group stepped out into a long hallway filled with an eerie green light. ‘ _Ah yes, not creepy at all,’_ Rose couldn’t help but think sardonically to herself, but she turned around to get a good look at their surroundings. There was very little down here to see, granted, but that strange pulling sensation she felt was stronger down here, and she let out a small breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart in her chest.

It all felt so… wrong, somehow.

“Where are we?” Donna’s voice snapped Rose out of her thoughts, and she turned, absently rubbing her hand against her chest, where a wound may have once lingered in another life. “What goes on down here?” She asked, and The Doctor lifted his eyebrows slightly.

“Let's find out.” He suggested, stepping forward and taking another look around, trying to place where exactly they were.

“Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?” Donna asked, and The Doctor nodded once in confirmation.

“The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it.”

“So he’s either an alien, being used by an alien, or in cahoots with an alien,” Rose surmised, and The Doctor couldn’t help but grin.

“ _Cahoots_. Love that word, but yep, that sums it up, more or less.” He confirmed, before his eyes locked in on a bunch of segways nearby, and his expression lit up in what Rose could only describe as child-like glee. “Oh, look! Transport!”

“Really? Segways?” Rose couldn’t help but laugh, but followed The Doctor as he ran for the devices, “We could just walk, y’know.”

“More fun this way,” The Doctor dismissed the idea, waving his hand, stepping up onto one and starting it up, taking a moment to look at Rose, wriggling his eyebrows in his excitement, and Rose’s laughter only grew. She moved to another one, climbing onto it and turning the handle, letting out a little noise of surprise when it jerked forward slightly, and The Doctor snickered.

“Shut it, you!” Rose huffed, fighting back her own smile as she shifted her balance a little better, and was able to maneuver the machine away from the others, The Doctor following close behind. Soon enough he moved beside her, shooting her a small, playful wink.

“Mad, the pair of you,” Donna muttered, but, granted, she had just jumped out of a _taxi_ – this was hardly the strangest thing she’d done today. With that in mind, she too climbed aboard a segway, a sharp look in Lance’s direction prompting him to mount one, too.

They rode in silence for a while, down a long – _far_ too long – hallway, until Rose happened to glance behind her, catching Donna’s eyes. Immediately, the two women started to laugh, Rose turning back forward, her laughter only growing stronger as she caught sight of The Doctor’s grinning face in her peripheral vision. She really didn’t know how they ended up in these ridiculous situations, but it could only ever happen with The Doctor.

As Rose began to try to stifle her giggles, the group soon came to a stop at a large bulkhead door, and they dismounted. Rose’s mirth finally came to a halt at the sight of the Torchwood logo stamped upon the door, a grim reminder of everything she had lost so far. She tucked her hair behind her ear, clearing her throat as The Doctor opened up the door to reveal a ladder.

“Wait here,” The Doctor instructed them, only to pause at the sight of Rose’s expression. With that in mind, he was quick to add; “I just need to get my bearings. Don't do anything.”

“You'd better come back.” Donna warned as The Doctor began to climb, and he let out a small scoff, as though the very idea that he’d vanish was ridiculous.

“And leave Rose? Nah, it’d be pointless, she’d find a way back to me somehow – she’s like a boomerang, she is. I don’t think I could get rid of either of you if I tried.”

“He _has_ tried, believe me,” Rose muttered, peering up the ladder as he moved farther and farther upwards. She tuned out Donna and Lance’s small conversation as she watched his ascension. With a brief moment of reprieve in their adventure, Rose’s thoughts began to wander. Before everything had started, before The Doctor had found a way to help her say goodbye to her mother, she had been _avoiding_ him, to put it rather bluntly.

She had been afraid of what he might do when he found out the truth about her, about what she’d been through. She knew that she couldn’t very well hide this from him – he was a Time Lord, he was going to find out about this eventually, and keeping it a secret made it seem as though she felt like she had done something wrong, and she didn’t! Coming back was the best decision she could have made, and she knew that. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t able to predict how The Doctor would feel about this, and THAT was what frightened her.

She was startled out of her thoughts quite suddenly as The Doctor jumped down the last few rungs of the ladder, dusting off his hands as he spoke.

“Thames flood barrier right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath.” He explained, and Rose couldn’t say she was surprised, though Donna certainly was.

“What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?” She asked in disbelief, and The Doctor and Rose shared a look.

“Oh, I know. Unheard of.” He replied, voice light, and Rose couldn’t help but smile slightly, following after him as he left the room, wrapping her arms around herself as they headed for another door close by. This one didn’t seem to be a door leading towards a ladder, but seemed instead to lead to another part of the underground base. For some reason, the unease Rose had been feeling ever since she had gotten down here only began to grow the closer that she got to it.

Her hands moved to press over her heart, able to suddenly feel it pounding in her chest. She felt almost light-headed as The Doctor pushed open the doors, and she hesitated for a second before following him. Her unease must have shown upon her face, because Donna gave her a curious look, and Rose simply shook her head before steeling herself and heading inside.

It seemed to be a laboratory of some kind, full of bubbling tubes, and Rose took a moment to look around, overwhelmed just by being in the middle of the _wrong-ness_ she felt. There was something here, something that shouldn’t BE, but she just… didn’t know what.

The Doctor, of course, was in his element, clearly delighted as he moved throughout the room, examining everything that he could see. “Ooh, look at this... Stunning!”

“What does it do?” Donna asked, looking around, seeming overwhelmed.

“Particle extrusion. Hold on,” The Doctor replied, moving to another part of the lab quickly, staring at some more tubes, and Rose could practically feel his awe. “ _Brilliant_. They've been manufacturing Huon particles... ‘Course, my people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure.” He explained, and Rose started for a moment as a voice, much like her own, yet with _something_ else, seemed to echo in her mind.

_I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them._

Her fingers moved to her head, massaging her temples slightly, shutting out the sound of The Doctor explaining who ‘his people’ were to Lance. Her memories felt so… fractured. She could hardly tell between her memories of her previous life with The Doctor, her memories in the alternate universe and her dreams. They all… blurred together, somehow. Still, the feeling that had settled inside of her felt _familiar._

The Doctor held up a small tube of some kind of liquid in front of Donna, who looked apprehensive, and Rose tried to tune herself back into the conversation as best as she could. Liquid huon particles… right. Of course.

“And that's what's inside me?” Donna asked, and by a way of response, The Doctor turned a small knob on top of the container. The liquid inside began to glow gold, as did Donna. Horror and fear were both plain upon her face, though Rose didn’t get the opportunity to comfort her. The moment The Doctor had turned the knob, the feeling she that had been sitting inside of her flared up into an inferno.

_Stars. She was burning. Inside out. Hot._

**WRONG. _WRONG_.**

Rose stumbled, grabbing onto a nearby table in order to keep her balance, her free hand moving to cover her mouth to stop herself from crying out. There was a song inside of her, burning her from the inside out, and it was only when golden eyes looked up to meet Donna’s horrified gaze, that she realized she too, was glowing.

She looked down at her hand, glowing and pulsating with a golden light, and as Donna opened her mouth to say something, Rose shook her head sharply. Not now. Not _here_.

The Doctor turned the knob once more, and the glowing faded, taking the burning sensation along with it, and Rose breathed a small sigh of relief, resting her other hand on the table and dropping her head downward slightly in order to catch her breath.

What was **THAT**?

“Genius.” The Doctor breathed, shaking his head slightly as he looked at the tube. “Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then. Ha!” He jumped backwards, suddenly giddy. “The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle. Oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine. Wham! go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven. A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point. Shazam!”

Rose looked up as a loud noise broke through The Doctor’s rambling, only to see Donna with her hand raised, and The Doctor looking sufficiently overwhelmed. Ah. _Oh dear._ Rose straightened up, moving to step beside The Doctor, and he looked between the two women, genuinely confused.

“What did I do this time?” He asked.

“Are you enjoying this?” Donna demanded, and The Doctor had the grace to stay silent, something akin to guilt flashing over his face for a brief moment. He DID tend to get a bit carried away when he figured out the answers to a mystery. “Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?” Donna’s eyes moved to Rose, then, and she could hear the unasked question in her words. _Are_ _ **WE**_ _safe?_

“Yes.” The Doctor replied, far too quickly and not at all convincingly.

“Doctor,” Donna breathed, and the look in her eyes was desperate. “If your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?”

The Doctor didn’t reply for a moment, but his expression was grim, and Rose reached out, taking hold of Donna’s hand, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Because they were deadly.” He admitted finally, and Donna let out a shaky breath, stumbling against Rose, who moved to wrap her arms around her tightly, pulling her into a hug.

“Oh, my God..” Donna whispered, a tremor in her voice. The Doctor strode forward towards the girls, staring down at them, though his eyes were fixed on Donna.

“I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. We are _not_ about to lose someone else.” He promised.

“ _Oh, she is long since lost!_ ”

The voice caught them all off-guard, and Rose turned quickly, seeing what had initially appeared to be a blue wall beginning to rise upwards. It revealed some kind of hole leading directly into the Earth, and the voice continued, raspy and hoarse, though Rose couldn’t figure out where it came from. It seemed as though it were all around them, and she shivered. She didn’t like this, not at all.

“ _I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!”_

Up upon the platforms, a dozen or so robots wearing hooded cloaks turned to face them, raising up the guns in their hands. Instinctively, Rose moved a little in front of Donna, fixing them all with a glare. The Doctor, however, seemed unperturbed, and strolled forward with his hands in his pockets, peering over the edge of the hole.

“Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser,” He noted, and Rose rolled her eyes slightly, letting out a somewhat breathless laugh.

“They always liked bein’ overly flashy,” She noted, taking hold of Donna’s hand as the other woman moved closer to the hole. She didn’t intend to let Donna out of her sight or away from her side just quite yet. The Doctor glanced at her with a half smile before he continued.

“How far down does it go?”

“ _Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!”_ The voice announced gleefully.

The Doctor’s eyebrows rose up high at that response. “Really? Seriously? What for?” He asked, genuinely puzzled.

“Dinosaurs.” Donna offered, and The Doctor’s puzzlement only seemed to grow even stronger as he turned to look at the women.

“What?”

“Dinosaurs?” Donna tried again, and The Doctor shook his head, bemused. Rose fought the urge to laugh as the two of them stared at one another with equal confusion.

“What are you on about, dinosaurs?” The Doctor asked.

“That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help.” Donna shrugged.

“That's not helping.” The Doctor dismissed, turning back to face the hole once more.

“Good try, though.” Rose piped up, shaking her head behind The Doctor’s back. “Not like The Doctor was comin’ up with any theories.”

“Rose.” The Doctor let out a loud sigh, glancing over his shoulder, and Rose simply offered him a little smile in response, tilting her head to one side.

“Doctor.”

“ _Such a sweet couple.”_ The voice taunted, and Rose’s smile instantly faded. She held onto Donna’s hand a little more tightly, and Donna glanced at her nervously.

“Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?” The Doctor demanded.

“ _High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night.”_

“Definitely alien, then,” Rose muttered, taking a moment to look at the robots in the room once more. They weren’t taking any further moves to hurt them, but Rose really didn’t like having any guns pointed at her. She had far too many bad experiences with them at this point. It had understandably left her on edge.

“I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom. Come on, let's have a look at you!” The Doctor’s voice rose to a shout, and Rose could practically feel his irritation seeping through his words.

“ _Who are you with such command?”_

“I'm The Doctor.”

“ _Prepare your best medicines, doctor man, for you will be sick at heart.”_ The voice scoffed, and up on a platform close by, a large red creature suddenly appeared. Though Rose had seen a great number of horrible things in her time, a large alien spider-woman with huge pincers was still enough to make her cringe, and she let out a breath, her eyes wide in horror.

God, that thing was _ugly_.

“Racnoss?” The Doctor breathed, just as in shock as she herself must have looked. Donna’s mouth was hanging open, and Rose could feel her hand trembling. For a first alien encounter, this was certainly a doozy. “But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss?” The Doctor repeated, and the creature sneered.

“Empress of the Racnoss!” She announced proudly with a hiss, and Rose shook her head slightly. Oh, that hissing… it sent uncomfortable shivers down her spine.

“If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss?” The Doctor asked, before a sudden thought seemed to dawn upon him. “Or, are you the only one?”

“Such a sharp mind.” The Empress taunted in response.

“That's it, the last of your kind.” The Doctor realised, and Rose glanced at him for a moment. Someone being the last of their kind was usually a… _sore_ subject for him, after all. “The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets.”

“Racnoss are born starving. Is that our fault?” The Empress retorted, and Rose heard Donna breathe in sharply.

“They eat people?” She asked, voice shaking, and The Doctor turned to them, an apology clear in his eyes.

“HC Clements, did he wear those, those er, black and white shoes?” He asked quietly, and Rose followed where his gaze had been moments before, only to wince at the sight of a pair of feet sticking out of a web above them. She glanced away then, biting her bottom lip as Donna spoke.

“He did. We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats.” She informed them, and The Doctor simply pointed upwards. Donna let out a frightened cry at the sight of her bosses body, and The Empress simply let out a cackle at their horrified reactions.

“Mmm. My Christmas dinner!” She grinned at them, a terrible sight.

“You shouldn't even _exist_. Way back in history, the fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss - they were wiped out.” The Doctor pointed out, shaking his head slightly, and Rose could practically see his mind working, trying to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Except for _me_.”

As The Empress spoke, Rose noticed Lance moving on the platforms above them, and she started slightly. When had he left? She hadn’t even noticed he’d gone! He made a motion for them to be quiet, hefting an axe into his hands. Rose glanced at The Doctor, and he shook his head once in response. Rose felt her stomach sink.

Something was definitely wrong.

“But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing.” Donna suddenly blurted out, and Rose glanced at her as she stepped forward, letting go of Rose’s hand. “Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking!” Rose realised she was trying to buy Lance some time, but none of it felt… right, somehow. “Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me!”

“The bride is so feisty.” The Empress sneered as Lance moved behind her, raising the axe up into the air.

“Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big thing, but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!” Donna shouted out, her hands moving into fists. Lance made as though he was going to swing the axe, and The Empress turned to him with a hiss. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before Lance started to laugh. The Empress quickly joined him, and Rose felt a flare of anger beginning to burn inside of her.

That _bastard_.

“That was a good one. Your _face_.” Lance laughed, dropping the axe down on the ground.

“Lance is funny.” The Empress smirked, and Rose stepped forward beside Donna, moving to rest a hand on her lower back, though she focused a furious glare on Donna’s former husband-to-be.

“What?” Donna asked quietly, and she seemed to shrink under the sound of Lance’s laughter. Clearly, none of this was sinking in, and Rose couldn’t blame her.

“I'm sorry.” The Doctor offered quietly, and Donna shook her head.

“Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!” Donna demanded, desperation in her voice. Lance simply scoffed, rolling his eyes at her words.

“ _God_ , she's thick. Months I've had to put up with her. _Months_. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!”

“Oi! Shut it!” Rose snapped, her arm tightening around Donna, longing to just hit Lance right in the sneer plastered all over his face. He was just adding insult to injury, and Rose knew all too well how it felt to have someone you thought you loved belittle you and tear you down. Though overall she had long since healed from Jimmy Stone’s influence over her, the words he’d said, the things he had done… those had had a huge lasting impact upon her.

“I don't understand.” Donna whispered, staring at Lance with clear hurt in her eyes.

“How did you meet him?” The Doctor asked, moving to Donna’s other side, and she tore her eyes away from Lance to look at him in confusion.

“In the office.”

“He made you coffee.” The Doctor pointed out, and Rose felt her heart sink. God, it just got even _worse_. He wasn’t just working with The Racnoss, he’d actively been poisoning Donna this whole time.

“What?” Donna asked, blinking, and Lance cut in, smirking down at them all.

“Every day, I made you coffee!” He announced, and The Doctor shot him a filthy look.

“You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months.” He reminded Donna, and as the implication sunk in, Donna’s shoulders completely slumped.

“He was poisoning me.” She realised quietly, and Rose’s heart ached at the sight of tears brimming in her eyes, though she seemed to be doing her best to hold it back. Donna was strong, Rose could only imagine she wasn’t going to give Lance the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

“It was all there in the job title. The Head of Human Resources.” The Doctor noted in disgust, and Lance let out another laugh, holding out his arms.

“This time, it's personnel.” He taunted, and Donna swallowed thickly.

“But, we were getting married.” She protested weakly.

“Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. Oh, Brad and Angelina. Is Posh pregnant? X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me. Dear God, the never ending fountain of _fat, stupid trivia_. I deserve a medal.” Lance wasn’t holding back. With every word, Rose could feel Donna sinking into the hand on her back, and her fury reached its’ peak, burning white hot.

“A medal? You don’t deserve anythin’! Does that make you feel special? Make you feel powerful siding with someone who’s going to destroy the whole planet? What’s **WRONG** with you? Are you that much of a sick, twisted _bastard_? Haven’t you done enough damage to her?” Rose let go of Donna, moving forward ahead of her and The Doctor, her voice rising into a shout. “Oh, yeah, lemme just side with the alien who’s gonna devour th’ whole planet! What do you even GET out of all this?!”

“Yes, what DID she offer you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?” The Doctor’s voice cut through Rose’s rage, and he stepped up beside her, a hand moving onto her shoulder. The grip was steady, trying to keep her from leaping forward and strangling Lance with her bare hands, she imagined.

“It's better than a night with _her_.” Lance had been surprised initially by Rose’s outburst, but the sneer had quickly returned to his face, and Rose let out a noise of genuine fury. The Doctor moved to grip her other shoulder, holding her in place.

“Donna needs you.” The Doctor’s voice was soft in her ear, a murmur meant just for her, and Rose turned, staring at Donna who was gazing at Lance with utter heartbreak in her eyes.

“But I love you...” She whispered, and Rose gently shrugged off The Doctor’s hands, moving to Donna’s side and wrapping her arm around her shoulders. Donna sunk into the hold, swallowing back a lump in her throat.

“That's what made it easy,” Lance admitted, before he turned to The Doctor. “It's like you said, Doctor. The big picture. What's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?” He was almost beseeching, and Rose had to bite her lip to keep herself from losing her cool once more.

“Who is this little physician and his feisty blonde friend?” The Empress asked, letting out another hiss, and Lance shrugged dismissively.

“She said Martian.”

“Oh, I'm sort of homeless.” The Doctor interjected quickly, idly sticking his hands into his pockets. “But the point is, what's _down_ here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's going to help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?”

“I think he wants us to talk.” Lance smirked, glancing at the Empress.

“I think so, too.” The Empress agreed, and Lance sneered at them.

“Well, tough! All we need is Donna.”

“Kill this chattering little doctor man and his blonde friend!” The Empress ordered, and instantly, Rose left Donna’s side in favour of standing in front of The Doctor, shielding him with her body. The Doctor stiffened at the movement, but didn’t have a chance to interject.

“Don't you hurt them!” Donna’s voice cut through Rose’s thoughts as she stumbled forward, trying to shield both Rose and The Doctor with her own body, and Rose’s eyes widened slightly.

“No, no, Donna. It's all right.” The Doctor tried to reassure her, but Donna simply shook her head wildly.

“No, I won't let them!” She cried, and Rose glared at the robots as they all aimed their guns directly at herself and The Doctor at the Empresses order.

“Ah, now. Except-” The Doctor began, but was cut off abruptly.

“Take aim!”

“Well, I just want to point out the obvious.” The Doctor continued, holding up his hands for a moment, and the Empress sneered at him, letting out a gleeful hiss.

“They won't hit the bride. They're such _very_ good shots.”

“Just, just, just, just, just hold on. Hold on just a tick. Just a tiny little, just a little tick!” The Doctor was quick to continue, shaking his head rapidly. He almost sounded nervous, but Rose knew he was just stalling for time. If anyone could get them out of this, he could. “If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So reverse it, and the spaceship comes to her.” The Doctor drew the small container of huon particles he had taken earlier, and turned the knob, just as the Empress called to fire.

As the knob turned, activating the huon particles inside of Donna and summoning the TARDIS, Rose let out a small cry, falling back against The Doctor’s chest. Her hands moved to grab at her chest as a white-hot heat spread through her entire body, and she squeezed her eyes shut, feeling as though it were burning her from the inside out once more.

Her skin was glowing gold along with Donna’s, and The Doctor’s arms wrapped around her tightly, clutching her to him.

“ _Rose_!” The panic in his voice didn’t escape Rose’s notice as the TARDIS materialized around them, and she stumbled forward out of his hold as the console came into view, gripping onto it and sinking onto her knees. The close proximity to the console instantly made her feel better, and she pressed her burning forehead against the nearest coral strut, letting it cool her skin. The TARDIS’ song washed over her mind, soothing her, and Rose could sense an apology within the hums.

“Get us _out_ of here, Doctor,” Rose’s words were hoarse, and she closed her eyes slightly, shaking her head sharply. The Doctor paused, torn between helping her and getting them out of there, but he turned at the last second and ran for the console, flipping some switches.

Rose let her body slump against the coral strut as exhaustion began to weigh down upon her, overwhelmed as her body sank into unconsciousness.

* * *

“Rose,” The Doctor’s voice was gentle but urgent, and Rose let out a little groan at the sound, reluctantly opening her eyes to peer at him. His face swam into her view, concerned and most _definitely_ worried, and she pushed herself to sit up, rubbing her face. “Are you okay?”

“M’okay, Doctor,” She mumbled, offering him a small smile, though he certainly didn’t look convinced. The smile faded, and she looked down at her knees for a moment, letting out a quiet sigh. “Look… we… we need to focus on Donna right now, yeah? When this is over, I’ll… let you do whatever tests you wanna do, and I’ll explain everythin’ to you.”

“Explain…?” The Doctor’s frown only grew, his eyebrows pulling together, and Rose gripped onto the console, pulling herself up to stand.

“About… my timelines, about the note I left for my mum… about, well, everythin’. Once this is done, I’ll tell you everythin’ I know, I promise.” She assured him. The Doctor didn’t exactly look reassured by that, and she knew being denied knowledge immediately was torture for him, but he simply pressed his lips together and nodded once.

“Right, well, you better come and have a look at this. We came back to see what’s buried at the planet’s core… farther back than we’ve ever been before,” He told her, and Rose nodded, only to pause when she noticed Donna stood nearby, discreetly trying to wipe some tears away.

She moved quickly over towards her, stumbling slightly on the grating. The Doctor reached out to try and steady her, but Rose steadied herself, taking a deep breath before she immediately pulled Donna into a tight hug. Donna stiffened in the embrace, but finally relaxed into it, hugging Rose tightly in return, burying her face into her shoulder.

“It’s **stupid** – you just bloody fainted, and I’m here, cryin’ because I just got jilted!” She burst out, emotion heavy in her voice, and Rose shook her head fiercely.

“Never you mind me,” She instructed firmly. “Donna, your feelin’s _matter_. He lied to you and betrayed you… of course you’re upset… an’ all of those things he said, none of ‘em are true. You’re brilliant, alrigh’? A million times more important than he could even hope of bein’”

Donna let out a watery laugh, breaking free from the hug and wiping her eyes, though she still looked completely miserable.

“Wish I could believe that, but… thanks.” She sniffed, and The Doctor took that moment to interject.

“Do you girls wanna see? We’re doing this the Donna way – come on. No humans have ever seen this before, you two will be the first,” The Doctor tried to enthuse, and Donna scoffed, rubbing the tear tracks from her face as she walked towards the door, Rose close behind her.

“All I wanna see is my bed,” She admitted quietly, and The Doctor offered a small smile, before he threw open the TARDIS doors.

“Donna Noble, Rose Tyler, welcome to the creation of the Earth.” He announced, and Rose’s eyes widened at the sight in front of them. The sun was shielded by layers of dust, with huge rocks floating all around them, their movement aimless. She remembered when the Earth had been destroyed while she’d been on Platform One, the sense of emptiness she had felt. This too was an emptiness, but so _different_. In this, there was creation, life just… waiting to form.

There was a beauty within this, and she let out a little awed noise, leaning slightly against the door frame of the TARDIS.

“We've gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the Sun, over there. Brand new. Just beginning to burn.” The Doctor informed them, a small smile on his face.

“Where's the Earth?” Donna asked quietly, and The Doctor gestured with one hand.

“All around us, in the dust.”

“Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just tiny.” Donna admitted with a sigh, folding her arms over her chest slightly.

“The words ‘Lance was right’ don’t belong in the same sentence unless you put ‘not’ in there somewhere,” Rose was quick to retort, shaking her head slightly.

“See, that's what you do!” The Doctor agreed, his enthusiasm seeming to grow. “The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed.”

“So I came out of all this?” Donna asked, her voice soft as the awe of it all began to sink in.

“Isn't that brilliant?” The Doctor grinned slowly, catching Rose’s eye. Rose returned the smile, and the expression began to fade, prompting him to look away from her, which felt like a sudden blow to the gut.

“I think that's the Isle of Wight.” Donna suddenly offered, letting out a short laugh as a large rock floating past the TARDIS.

“Eventually, gravity takes hold.” The Doctor continued. “Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in. Everything, piling in until you get--”

“--The Earth.” Donna cut in.

“But the question is, what was that first rock?” The Doctor asked, shaking his head slightly. Rose gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, before her eyes widened at the sight of a large star shaped ship seemed to come looming out of a nearby dust cloud, and she pointed at it quickly.

“Over there – look!”

“The Racnoss.” The Doctor noted, hisexpression grim, before confusion twisted both his face and his words. He turned, running back to the console. “Hold on! The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?”

“Exactly what you said!” Donna realised as rocks began to float towards the ship, connecting against it as though they were somehow drawn towards it. The Doctor quickly joined them once more to observe the ship spinning, pulling more and more rocks towards it.

“ _Oh_ , they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth. They _became_ the centre of the Earth. The first rock.” The Doctor’s eyes widened slightly.

“So, Earth was made around a giant alien space-ship? S’pose I shouldn’t be surprised at this point...” Rose pressed her lips together, only to stumble and grab onto the door frame as a loud _**BANG**_ rocked the ship. The three of them turned to look at the console, and Rose felt a sharp tugging at her core. She rushed over to the controls as The Doctor slammed the doors shut, and she grabbed onto a railing as the time rotor started up once more.

The TARDIS certainly didn’t appreciate being pulled back and to so fiercely, and the ship rocked fiercely, sending all three of them stumbling and trying to keep their balance.

“What the hell's it doing??” Donna demanded, clinging onto a nearby rail as The Doctor tried in vain to stop the TARDIS from moving.

“Remember that little trick of mine, particles pulling particles? Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back!” He called out, spinning around the time rotor, stumbling as another tremor rocked the ship.

“Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?” Donna shouted in response, and Rose fought back a laugh as The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“Backseat driver,” He muttered quietly, until a thought seemed to dawn on him. “Oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator!” He shouted, diving under the console in order to grab a device Rose hadn’t seen in quite some time.

“Blimey! Been a while since you used that!” Rose noted, her eyes wide in surprise, and The Doctor couldn’t help but grin.

“Yep! It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!” He set it down on the console, picking up a mallet he often used when the TARDIS was being ‘difficult.’ He waited for a moment, before he slammed the mallet into the extrapolator with a loud cry of: “Now!”

The shaking stopped abruptly, and The Doctor didn’t hesitate, running for the doors, pushing them open with both Rose and Donna both hot on his trail.

“We're about two hundred yards to the right. Come on!”

The three of them ran down the corridor they had entered from, The Doctor heading straight for the bulkhead door, pulling out a stethoscope as he ran towards it, immediately putting it in his ears and pressing the chestpiece against the door.

“But what do we do?” Donna asked, trying to catch her breath as she watched The Doctor, who turned back to her, almost looking bemused.

“I don't know. I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history.”

“He really does, and even when he _does_ come up with a plan, it usually always goes wrong,” Rose agreed, letting out a laugh, though standing so still made her feel on edge, nervous. The Empress wasn’t going to just wait for them to show up again, after all.

“But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles, but what for?” Donna asked, shaking her head slightly, and The Doctor focused on the door as he answered.

“There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss were stuck.” He began, but the rest of the explanation Rose didn’t quite hear. A hand covered her mouth, pulling her backwards. She tried to struggle and kick her legs, but the hold was unyielding.

She turned her head slightly to see Donna in a similar situation, struggling in the arms of one of the robots, and she felt her resolve tighten. Dimly, she could recall some old techniques to escape a strong hold from an attacker from behind she had learned from Torchwood. Though she was being dragged backwards and away from The Doctor, her feet were still on the ground, and Rose threw her weight backwards, throwing off the robot’s balance. With the slight shift in the balance, Rose found purchase and twisted her body, pulling herself free out of the hold, letting out a gasp and darting forward.

She opened her mouth in order to call out to The Doctor, but before she had a chance, a hand grabbed the back of her head, and pushed it sideways into the nearest wall. Her skull collided against the brick, and the impact was enough to send Rose careening into darkness.

* * *

It was the _song_ that brought Rose back into consciousness. It was gentle, at first, similar to the tune of the TARDIS, warm and soothing, but it quickly began to turn cruel and _burn_ , and Rose’s eyes snapped open with a sudden cry. Her back arched up off of the ground, her body glowing gold. She could feel something pulling at the very fibre of her being, trying to pull her apart from inside.

She rolled onto her side, only to try to stumble back, realising how close she was to the edge of the pit leading to the centre of the Earth. Her head pounded and ached, but it was nothing compared to the agony raging inside of her body.

“Rose!” She heard Donna’s voice from above, and she rolled onto her back once more, gasping for air, unable to see her friend, unable to focus or even think straight.

“The Doctor man’s little human friend is full of the particles as well! Yet they will not leave her…” The Empress let out a long hiss. “It matters NOT! The secret heart unlocks!”

The pain began to recede slightly, and Rose tried to focus, tried to will herself into thinking coherently. Her hand moved to cover her eyes, her entire body trembling. She knew something important was happening, and she needed to help, she needed to **DO** something. She moved, forcing herself up onto her forearms, blinking as the world began to come into focus once more. She looked up, able to see Donna and Lance suspended in webs above the pit, and her breath caught slightly.

“Donna...” She breathed, moving to push herself onto her knees.

“My children, the long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh! The web star shall come to me!” The Empress cried out gleefully, looking down into the hole. “My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web!” She ordered.

“Use her, not me! Use her!” Lance begged, and Rose forced herself to her feet, swaying precariously, but trying to keep herself from either vomiting or fainting once more.

“Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady friend. The Empress does not approve!” She reached upwards with one of her pincers, and the web holding Lance collapsed, sending him falling down into the void below. Donna’s cry of horror prompted Rose to flinch, and she looked away from the scene, turning her glare onto the Empress, who laughed gleefully. “Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat! My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them! So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor man, before I turn your pretty friend into a meal for my precious children!”

That was enough to prompt Rose to turn, squinting slightly at a nearby platform, where The Doctor pulled off a cloak and a mask, a disguise to make him look like one of the robots.

“Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Donna!” He called out, pointing his sonic up at the ceiling and activating it. The web began to give way, and Donna let out a loud shriek.

“I'm going to fall!”

“You're going to swing! I've got you!” The Doctor corrected her, and he held out his arms as the webbing finally snapped. Donna clung to one large strand, which swung her across the pit and towards The Doctor’s waiting arms. Unfortunately, he had over-estimated where he would need to be, and Donna hit the wall underneath him, landing hard on the ground. The Doctor flinched, peering down over the railings.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Thanks for nothing.” Donna muttered, glaring up at him before moving to push herself to stand up.

“Just.. just… go help Rose!” He ordered, his eyes flicking over towards her. She was clearly struggling, swaying on her feet, and he could see what appeared to be blood from where she had been lying. She had been hurt, severely so, and had been put in danger multiple times during this ‘adventure.’ The Doctor could feel his anger beginning to rise, the oncoming storm starting to brew.

“The doctor man amuses me.” The Empress cackled, and The Doctor stared at her, his expression steely.

“Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now.” He instructed her, doing his best to temper his anger, keep it contained for now.

“These men are so funny.” The Empress sneered.

“What's your answer?”

“Oh I'm afraid I have to decline.” Donna moved beside Rose as The Empress spoke, carefully moving one of Rose’s arms around her shoulders, using the grip to help Rose walk back towards the stairwell. The Doctor followed their movement with his eyes briefly, and when he spoke, his words were cold.

“What happens next is your own doing.”

As The Empress prepared her robots to fire, Rose closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. She hated being useless, but her head ached without the burning to distract her from it. She blinked, drifting in and out of focus as The Doctor was able to disarm the robots with ease, revealing that he’d had a remote control for them in his pockets.

“Roboforms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh.”The Empress insisted.

“Oh, but I'm not from Mars.” Donna was chilled by the tone in The Doctor’s voice, and she glanced between him and Rose for a moment, worry clear in her gaze. She may have only just met him, but… he seemed beyond angry. Furious.

The Empress seemed startled by this sudden revelation. “Then where?”

“My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on.” The Doctor told her, and his expression hardened. “ _Gallifrey_.”

The Empress let out a sudden, terrible scream, rising up to her full height at the mention of the name, and the sound prompted Rose to look up, pushing through the haze as best as she could.

“ _They murdered the Racnoss!_ ” The Empress screeched, but The Doctor remained cold, dispassionate.

“I warned you. _You_ did this.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of the Christmas baubles that had been used to cause so much damage at Donna’s wedding reception. He threw them up into the air as the Empress let out horrified cries of realisation, begging him to stop. The Doctor used the remote to direct the baubles, sending some of them to blow holes in the corridor to let the water from the Thames flood the chamber. The pressure from the sudden collection of water prompted manhole covers in the room to burst, allowing even more water to flood in as the water poured into the hole below.

“No! _**No**_! My children! No! My children! My _children_!”

The Empresses screams were a terrible thing to behold, and it was that which allowed Rose to finally focus, though not for _her_ sake. It didn’t take long before she and Donna were soaked to the bone, and she looked up, seeing The Doctor staring out at the chaos he had created, his expression a mask of stoicism.

“Doctor.” Rose didn’t need to shout in order to be heard over the Empress’ desperate screaming. Though she leaned heavily on Donna, her eyes were fixed clearly upon The Doctor, and he faltered for a moment, looking down at her. “That’s enough.”

Whatever spell he had been under seemed to break at being addressed by Rose, and he immediately abandoned the remote in his hands, moving some of the debris around him in order to get down to her and Donna.

“Right! Let’s get you two out of here!”

Donna stumbled forward, trying to block out the Empresses screams, and The Doctor immediately moved to her side, turning and bending slightly in front of them.

“Help her on,” He instructed, and Donna moved, draping Rose’s arms over The Doctor’s shoulders. Rose wanted to fight, insist she could walk, but she was just so… tired. Instead, she did her best to climb up onto The Doctor’s back, helped with a slight push from Donna. She wound her legs around his waist, and he hefted her up with ease. He immediately hooked his hands underneath her legs, keeping her in place, and began to head up the stairs, Donna in close pursuit of them. The Doctor led them towards another bulkhead door that he’d left open, and nodded at Donna to indicate she should climb up the ladder.

“Rose, I need you to hold on tight, okay?” He instructed, and Rose buried her face into his neck, but her grip on him did in fact tighten. The Doctor let out a breath, knowing this would be difficult, but he began to climb the ladder, trying to display his weight more evenly, so Rose wasn’t leaning too far back and neither of them felt unsteady.

“But what about the Empress?” Donna asked suddenly from above, and The Doctor glanced upwards, shouting above the roar of the water.

“She's used up all her Huon energy. She's defenceless!” He assured her, and as he said that, a loud explosion rocked them from above. Donna shrieked, and The Doctor clung to the ladder a little tighter, gritting his teeth slightly. As the tremors from the explosion stopped, Donna pushed open the cover above her, and climbed up on top of the flood barrier, letting out a loud, breathless gasp.

Seeing he was struggling with Rose, Donna moved to grab ahold of the blonde, and Rose used the grip to help pull herself onto her feet, almost wobbling, but holding onto Donna in order to keep her balance. The Doctor joined them, and both he and Donna let out loud, weak laughs.

“There's just one problem.” Donna told him, grinning slightly, and The Doctor lifted his eyebrows.

“What’s that?”

“We've drained the Thames.” Both he and Donna were silent for a moment, before they began to laugh loudly, though it faded quickly at the sight of Rose so… out of it. She noticed The Doctor’s gaze, and she offered him a small, tired smile. She turned slightly, resting her head against Donna’s shoulder, and he could see where she had been injured quite clearly.

“So, what about the TARDIS?” Donna asked after a second. “I mean it was down there, right? I know it’s a magic space ship or whatever, but is it gonna be alright?”

“Oh, the TARDIS is sturdy, don’t you worry about her, i’ll pop down and get her when the water recedes a little bit, but I should probably take a look at Rose’s head now.” The Doctor replied, and Donna nodded, though Rose tried to wave her hand dismissively.

“Doctor, I’m fine,” she mumbled, but The Doctor simply rolled his eyes, carefully taking Rose’s face in his hands. He turned her head to the side, peering at the wound. It… didn’t seem as bad as he was expecting it to be. There had been more blood on the ground than should have come from such a small wound, but her dizziness and lack of co-ordination was still concerning.

“It looks like you’ve got a concussion,” He noted, pulling her eye apart slightly to shine a little light in there, seeing if her pupils would shrink. “I’ve got something for that on the TARDIS, but just try to stay awake for now, okay? They must have hit you pretty hard,” He noted, his thumbs gently brushing against her cheeks.

“They pushed her head right into a wall,” Donna offered by way of explanation, wincing at the memory. “She went out right away, I thought they’d bloody killed her,” she grimaced, and The Doctor stiffened at her words.

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, Doctor, M’tough.” Rose promised, offering him a small smile, and The Doctor simply sighed, but offered her a smile in return.

“Believe me Rose, I know.”

* * *

Rose’s eyes flickered open slowly, wincing at the sight of the bright lights of the TARDIS med-bay. Ah, had she… fallen asleep again? Her head felt much better, admittedly, and she slowly sat up, touching where the injury had been, relieved to feel that there seemed to be nothing there. Carefully, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, testing her balance.

She felt fine, she SEEMED fine.

Rose couldn’t quite remember everything that had happened, only bits and pieces, but she could only assume The Doctor had given her something to help with the concussion. She walked out of the med-bay, resting her hand against the wall to feel the reassuring hum of the TARDIS beneath her fingertips.

She headed down the corridor, stepping out into the console room, looking around in confusion to see that it was empty. Another hum from the TARDIS lit up the view-screen, displaying The Doctor and Donna outside in the snow, talking with one another. Surprise rose up inside of her, but Rose turned to the doors, quickly making her way over towards them.

“Merry Christmas.” She heard Donna tell The Doctor sincerely, and she couldn’t help but smile. _So much for hating Christmas, then._

“Hope you weren’t thinking of leaving without a goodbye,” She piped up as she opened the door, and Donna’s expression lit up in response as Rose shot her a playful grin.

“Rose! You’re okay! God! I was worried!” She lunged forward, wrapping Rose up in a tight hug, and Rose could only laugh in response, returning the embrace tightly.

“Takes more than that to keep me down,” She promised, and Donna pulled back, holding onto her shoulders with a grin in response.

“I was just about to ask Donna what she was going to do now that this is all over,” The Doctor informed her, lightly pulling on his ear, offering Rose a small smile. Rose tilted her head, looking at Donna in obvious curiosity.

“Not getting married, for starters.” Donna replied drily, before shaking her head. “And I'm not going to temp anymore. I don't know. Travel. See a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and _do_ something.”

“Well, you could always...” The Doctor trailed off, glancing at Rose for a moment, who nodded her head once. Ah, of **COURSE** she wanted Donna to come with them… she’d liked her from the start. “Come with us.”

“No.”

The rejection stung, though The Doctor supposed it shouldn’t have. She was hardly the first person to refuse to come with him, and he glanced down quickly. Rose’s face had fallen quite obviously, and she was gazing at Donna in what he could only describe as dismay.

“Okay.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Rose blurted out, her eyes wide, and The Doctor looked at her before glancing back at Donna. “We’d love to have you – I bet you’d love it on the TARDIS. Seein’ other planets and different times… It’s amazin’.”

“Yeah, but really... Everything we did today. Do you live your lives like that?” Donna asked, shaking her head with a small, sad smile on her face. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably.

“Not all the time.” He insisted, and Rose nodded her head in agreement.

“Trouble’s just the bits in-between,” She quipped, and The Doctor smiled faintly, before glancing back at Donna, who didn’t look convinced.

“I think you do. And I couldn't.”

“But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful.” The Doctor pointed out, and Donna shook her head.

“And it's _terrible_. That place was flooding and burning and they were _dying_ , and you were stood there like, I don't know, a stranger. Rose was glowing like she was full of those particles, her eyes shining like the sun! – And then you made it snow. I mean, you both scare me to death,” She admitted, and Rose wrapped her arms around herself, unable to stop herself from feeling a little hurt.

“It’s just… complicated.” She muttered, biting down on her lip slightly. “Are.. are you really sure?”

“I am. Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner.” Donna told them both, and immediately, both Rose and The Doctor were shaking their heads. “Oh come on.”

“Thanks, Donna, but I’m not really sure I’m ready for a family Christmas,” Rose admitted, and The Doctor inclined his head in acknowledgement of her words.

“Besides, I better do another check-up on Rose, make sure she’s actually okay, and sort out the whole… _glowing_ … thing.” His jaw tightened slightly, and Rose averted his gaze from him. Donna watched them both for a moment, before she sighed.

“Am I ever gonna see you two again?” She asked, and The Doctor offered her a more genuine smile.

“If we’re lucky.”

Rose moved forward again at that, wrapping Donna up in one more a tight hug, before she pulled back from her, smiling warmly.

“Thanks for everything, Donna.”

“Thanking me? I’m the one who should be thankin’ you two!” Donna waved her hand slightly, letting out a laugh, and shook her head. “Go on, get out there and go save planets and rescue orphans or whatever it is you two do.”

The Doctor couldn’t help but crack a smile at that, pushing open the door to the TARDIS as he spoke. “Good luck, Donna Noble. Be… magnificent.”

“I think I will, yeah.” Donna replied, and Rose couldn’t help but smile broadly at the note of confidence in her voice. She offered her one final wave, before she headed into the TARDIS, The Doctor following behind her. He shut the door, and the pair of them moved over towards the console. Rose pressed her hands against it, and The Doctor didn’t speak again until he flicked a few switches, sending them into the vortex.

Now that it was just the two of them, Rose couldn’t help the nerves that were building up inside of her, and she stared at her hands, trying to keep her breathing even.

“... _Right_ then, Rose Tyler. I think we need to talk.”


	14. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NONE OF YOU EXPECTED ME TO GET THIS UP SO FAST, DID YOU? I wasn't going to post it, honestly, but I have no self control, and I was inspired to write today, so I just went for it! The Doctor and Rose have a lot to work out, after all.

‘ _We need to talk_ ’ were four words that could fill even the most stoic of human beings with a sense of fear and dread, and Rose Tyler was really no different. Hearing them from The Doctor’s mouth, so serious and intent, filled her stomach with nerves and butterflies like which she hadn’t experienced in a… very long time. Rose didn’t respond for a moment, gently sliding her fingers along the console, allowing the TARDIS to hum reassuringly in her mind.

“Not here,” Rose said after a moment of silence, and finally lifted her gaze to look at The Doctor, who was staring at her. She flinched, glancing away from him quickly, and wet her lips with her tongue, feeling how dry they were. “Can.. Can we go to th’ library or somethin’? It’s a _long_ story.”

“Well, I was hoping to check you over at the med-bay again, just make sure everything is okay.” The Doctor countered, taking off his coat and lying it over the captain’s chair. He was playing it casual, but Rose noticed how his fingers twitched, and she let out a small breath. He was just as nervous as she was, at least. He didn’t know what she was going to say, after all.

“Can I explain it all first? After that, you can check me over as much as you want, poke and prod me with all your instruments,” She requested, rubbing her arm slightly. The Doctor was silent for a moment, but offered a curt nod after a second, before he gestured for Rose to walk ahead of him and lead the way to the library. She stepped forward, cutting in front of him, though her fingers itched to reach out and hold onto his hand, wanting to keep herself as grounded as possible.

The library had always been their spot, back when she had originally travelled with The Doctor. She could recall many long nights there, floating in the vortex after a big adventure or just having a quiet day, curled up on one of the long couches with a book in her hands, or with The Doctor reading to her. When she had first joined The Doctor on the TARDIS, back when he was all leather jackets and big ears, she hadn’t exactly been well-read. She knew **HOW** to read, of course, but reading had never been one of her _favourite_ pastimes.

That had all changed once The Doctor had started to read out loud to her, shortly after their trip to meet Charles Dickens. She was familiar with _The Christmas Carol_ (though she had never read it) and _Oliver Twist_ , and she had wanted to pay tribute to the man who had helped save them in that old basement. When The Doctor had found her with her nose buried in _Great Expectations_ , trying to wrap her head around it all, he’d been amused.

He’d taken it from her, sat down and then he had started to read aloud. From there on in, it had always just been their… thing. The Doctor’s voice was always soothing, and Rose’s interest in books had grown to the point where she would also read without The Doctor present. Despite that, they always picked out a book that the two of them could read together.

Even when she’d been with _John_ , it was a habit the two of them had fallen into. After his death, she hadn’t read anything except Torchwood reports and paperwork. Perhaps it was something she could get back into again. She came to a stop in front of the library, gently sliding her hand over the ornate door frame, letting out a slow breath.

“It feels like an age since I’ve been here,” She admitted quietly, and The Doctor’s eyebrows furrowed at the admission, glancing at her, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his suit jacket.

“We were in here just the other week, reading _The Lord of the Rings_ ,” He pointed out in some confusion, the feeling only growing as Rose turned to look at him, a sad, contemplative smile on her lips. She didn’t respond, choosing instead to walk inside of the library and head towards their usual couch.

She fell down onto the plush cushions, letting out a long sigh, and The Doctor joined her on the opposite end, twisting his body so that he was facing her a little more. His nerves were shot, and every atom within his body seemed to be twitching, yearning for answers that were so close within his reach. He couldn’t understand why Rose was being so elusive, or why she’d want to hide anything from him at all. Just what did she know about her timelines?

“Doctor, what d’you know about alternate timelines?” Rose asked quietly, moving to pull her knees up to her chest, dropping her chin down on top of them. “I don’t mean like Pete’s world, not an alternate universe, but… another timeline, where one thing is just different, and everything just… changes completely.”

The Doctor frowned at the question, leaning back into the cushions for a moment before he answered. “Risky stuff, honestly. It isn’t something that should be meddled with. It’s part of why the TARDIS can’t go back in time when we’re already part of established events, and why, for example, you couldn’t save your dad. ‘course, that was a _little_ bit different, since you interfered directly with the timeline. In truth, alternate timelines blink in and out of existence all of the time with every single decision you make. Things that could be, may be and never will be, all influenced by a single decision.”

He scratched his thumb absently against his sideburns, pursing his lips slightly. “They’re timelines that diverge from the natural timeline based on choices and actions that you _may_ have made or never will make. They’re not as clean cut as parallel universes, which are created by _multiple_ anomolies. An alternate timeline is influenced by a single decision and change, which is why they’re so fragile, really. Many of them don’t really last, and fragment into non-existence. Why d’you ask?”

“Okay, so, that means there’s a timeline where I didn’t get to stay with you at Canary Wharf, right?” Rose offered tentatively. “Say, I started to fall through the breach, an’.. an’ just before I fell in, Pete appeared and took me back to his universe with my mum and everyone. The walls between the universes close off, and I’m stuck there. There’s a timeline where that could happen, righ’?”

“Weirdly specific, but… yes, I suppose so,” The Doctor agreed slowly, his frown only growing. The question and the scenario sat uncomfortably in his stomach. It wasn’t a possible future he even _wanted_ to consider.

“Well, it.. it DID happen.” Rose admitted, twisting her hands together. She felt nauseous, light-headed in a way that had nothing to do with her previous head injury. “The reason I knew about mum, about.. about getting hold of a rope to tie us to the clamps? I’ve lived that whole scenario before, Doctor. I know, it sounds crazy, but – but just let me explain, okay?”

She looked up at him, desperate, and The Doctor had gone very still. Rose could see something brewing in his eyes, an old and ancient anger. She had seen it when she had saved her father’s life, the fury at the possibility of her altering time for what he likely assumed was her own selfish needs.

“It… It was a long time ago,” She admitted. “For me, anyway. Years, in fact. I fell towards the breach, and my dad… he came back and he saved me, but.. but it cut me off from everythin’, from _you_. I couldn’t stand it… you said goodbye to me on Bad Wolf Bay, like we just did with my mum, and then you were just… gone, and I had to live without you, without… everything. I started workin’ at Torchwood, I did my best to save the world, to do somethin’ good with my life while I could, but all I thought about was comin’ back to you.”

“Let me guess, Torchwood came up with something to send you back?” The Doctor asked, his voice tight, fingers curling into tight fists, his eyes burning into her. Rose could feel tears beginning to build up, and she shook her head quickly. “What, sent you back into this body? Your _**old**_ body? What about Rose’s consciousness? Your _old_ consciousness? What happened to _**HER**_?” He demanded.

“I don’t.. I don’t _know_ , but Doctor, please, you’ve gotta listen--” Rose begged, but The Doctor cut her off again, pushing himself to his feet as he began to pace back and forth.

“ _Rassilon_! Humans! You never learn, do you? Always meddling with time, tinkering with things you don’t understand! No wonder your timeline is so **WRONG**. You changed everything, ripped a hole through the fabric of time itself to what? _possess your old body?_ Rose, how could you be so careless, so st-”

“I _**DIED**_ , Doctor!” Rose burst out, and The Doctor froze immediately. Slowly, he turned to look at her, his eyes wide. Tears were slipping down her cheeks, and she had moved to rest on her knees, her hands gripping the material of her jeans tightly. There was a tremor in her voice, and she let out a small, choked sob, reaching up a hand to press it to the centre of her chest. “I was shot, right here. I _died_.”

“What..? you...” The Doctor’s anger seemed to dissipate, replaced with an expression Rose could only describe as despair. Rose dying had always been a particularly sore subject for him, and not something he ever cared to think about. “But, you _couldn’t_ have.”

“I did. I saved my little brother’s life… Tony, his name is gonna be Tony.” Rose let out a weak laugh, rubbing some of her tears away with the palm of her hand. “I did get back to this universe, but.. but not how you think. At first, I helped Torchwood build this.. machine. It pushed me through holes in the universe already formin’, because.. because somethin’ bad was happenin’. When I found you, when everything was over and done with, you.. you _left_ me again. It was different, though. I.. I found someone, Or, well, it was _complicated_ , but he died too, and I had… nothing.”

Rose moved to press her palms over her heart, closing her eyes for a long moment, letting the words sink in.

“I did my best, though… I carried on, but I wasn’t… me. Not anymore. Then, there was this… invasion. It was a species of alien that was s’posed to be peaceful, but they were attacking us. I was leading the defence, trying to evacuate civilians and defending people, when I saw my mum and Tony. One of the aliens, it was pointing his gun right at him, so I ran, and I… pushed him.”

The Doctor’s hands uncurled from their fists, and he could only stare at her with wide, stunned eyes. He could almost see it in his mind, Rose sacrificing her life in order to save her brother, a child he had never even met yet, who hadn’t even been born in this universe.

“I don’t really remember much after that, except flashes. Voices calling my name, a lot of pain, and then...” Rose let out a little breath, and a peaceful smile graced her lips. “The TARDIS. I heard her, calling out to me.”

“What?” The Doctor managed to ask, slowly moving to sit down again, unable to take his eyes away from Rose. “How is that… possible?”

“I’m not sure,” Rose admitted, but moved, resting her hand against a wall. The TARDIS let out a loud, content hum, and The Doctor started at the noise, looking between the wall and Rose, his eyes wide. He knew that his ship and Rose had a special bond, but… this? “I heard this _song_ , and I woke up in some sort of.. field. The TARDIS said it was my mind. I was dyin’.”

“The TARDIS… spoke to you?”

“I know, mad, right?” Rose laughed quietly, though there was no mirth in the sound. “I dunno how, but, she told me I was dyin’, and that I had a choice. She’d set me free, or she would use our.. our bond to pull me back. Pull my mind through time and bring me to th’ point where it all went wrong… Canary Wharf.”

“So.. that day, in the console room, when you said you’d had a nightmare,” The Doctor slowly began to surmise, and Rose nodded her head.

“I.. It was the first time i’d seen you in a.. a long time. For me, I s’pose it’s been nearly eight years since Canary Wharf. Nearly three since you left me at Bad Wolf Bay for th’ second time.” Rose confirmed quietly.

“How.. How do I know this is true? That you’re not just some sort of… alien _parasite_ who latched onto Rose’s memories and consciousness?” The Doctor demanded, but there was no real fight inside of him. His protestations came primarily from the thought that he could ever abandon her after losing her for so long. If he had the chance to get Rose back after losing her, he wanted to believe he’d _take_ it. The TARDIS would never have reacted so positively to Rose if this were the case, though, and Rose herself shifted forward, an old sadness in her eyes that he’d never noticed before. _No_ … he’d noticed, he just hadn’t wanted to see it.

“Look into my mind, Doctor,” She told him, a faint smile on her face. “I’ll let you in, just… look. I’ll let you see everythin’. No more secrets, I promise.”

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, though his fingers twitched towards her face, before freezing in place. Rose’s gaze was soft, trusting, and her hands took hold of his own, lifting them and allowing his fingertips to brush against her temples. Instinctively his mind reached out towards her, and as he did so, he felt the brush of her mind reach **OUT** to him, and he almost jerked back from the shock.

He felt an apology radiating from the presence, and he knew, he could feel her. It was _Rose_. Her mental touch was like a balm, soothing and gentle, and he fell into her hold, allowing himself to fall into her memories, allowing his entire being to be enveloped by her.

_Take me back! Take me BACK!_ A white wall, a sensation of utter despair and loss. She had lost her whole entire world. What was he going to do without her? He should never be alone, and she felt empty without him. Who was she without The Doctor in her life? A beach, a cold chill in the air as she saw him appear, mutual longing on both sides.

_I love you_ , she choked out through her tears, and he smiled, a sad, ancient thing.

_Quite right, too. And I suppose, if it’s my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler -_

He was gone, all too soon, he was taken from her all over again, and the despair only grew. _Torchwood_. She threw herself into her work, desperate to discover a new way back. _Tony_ , his smile soothed some of the pain in her heart. _The stars are going out._

_We need The Doctor._

_The Dimension Cannon_. Darting in and out of the universe to find him, missing him every time. _Donna_. The most important woman in the universe.

She smiled at him from afar, her expression radiant as she began to run. She had to reach him. He ran too, her name on his lips. _A_ _Da_ _lek_ , ruining everything. _Regeneration_. No. He stopped it. _Jack_. A _hand_.

_What was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it._

_I said, Rose Tyler._

_Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?_

_Does it need saying?_

_I love you._

**John**.

She was angry and she was hurt. _Resentful_. She didn’t want him, she wanted The Doctor. Warmth pooled over time, a fondness grew. _Love_. _Marriage_. A **bond**.

_I’ll be with you as long as our forever lasts, Rose._

_**LIAR**_. A hospital bed, grief in her heart as she clutched at his hand, sobbing, begging him to come back to her because he promised. He _**PROMISED**_! An emptiness in mind and heart, loss and devastation. Each day a struggle to find meaning, to find hope.

Tony. _Danger_. She had to save Tony. No matter the cost. Pain bloomed from her chest. She hit her knees. **Darkness**.

Golden tendrils. Warmth. A choice to be made. A second chance.

_Home_.

The Doctor pulled himself out of Rose’s memories with a loud gasp, realizing after a moment that they were both crying. The tears fell silently down his own cheeks, though Rose trembled underneath his hold, her fingers moving to clutch the lapels of his jacket almost desperately.

“ _Rose_ , oh _Rose_ ,” He spoke her name as though it was a prayer, reverence in every syllable. His fingers cupped her cheeks, pressing his forehead against her own, feeling his hearts breaking as he ran over every one of her memories. She had been married, she’d had a life and a home that he had been able to give to her. But she had lost it all. She had formed a telepathic bond. _Rassilon_ , he knew how much pain she must have been in once that bond _severed_.

“I’m sorry, Doctor, I’m so sorry...” Rose wept, trying to reign in her tears, to no avail. “Don’t… Don’t leave me, I’m _sorry_.”

“ _Never_ ,” The Doctor assured her quietly, gently brushing her hair back from her face, closing his eyes and trying to collect his emotions. He moved his arms, winding them around her waist, pulling her into a tight hug. Rose fell into the embrace, moving her head to bury it into his neck as she clung to him, both relieved and exhausted in equal measure.

* * *

When they had both calmed down enough, The Doctor had insisted that they relocate to the galley, thinking that they might benefit from a good cup of tea. Rose sat at the table, cradling a mug in her hands, biting down on her bottom lip. The Doctor was silent too, sitting opposite her, watching her carefully for a moment.

“There’s one thing I don’t fully understand,” He finally admitted, and Rose glanced up at him, the question in her eyes. “The glowing. When I activated those huon particles, you started glowing too, and you were… in a lot of pain. When you were hurt by the robots, there was more blood than could have come from the wound that you actually had.”

“Honestly? I don’t really know about all of that,” Rose confessed, shaking her head. “I guess.. I sort of noticed that I wasn’t really getting any older after a certain point. I seemed more _mature_ as time passed, but I hadn’t really aged physically, I s’pose? Not visibly, at least. After the Gamestation, every time I got hurt I just seemed to heal faster than I used to. I just assumed it was the TARDIS healing me somehow at first. After I got stuck in Pete’s world, though, it just kept happening, even though I knew my connection from the TARDIS was cut off, because I couldn’t understand aliens any more.”

“I think this is the point where I insist on tests in the med-bay,” The Doctor pointed out, a wry smile on his face, and Rose laughed quietly in response. The smile faded after a moment, and he sighed, rubbing his hand down his face slowly. “I’m going to have to forget most of this. It’s dangerous to know any events of the future, especially for me. I can remember our… initial conversation, but everything relating to future events… about Donna, Martha, The... _human_ … me.” He winced slightly. “I can lock those memories away until a certain stimuli triggers them again, preferably after the events have happened, so I don’t need to block them all again.”

“What about me?” Rose asked, biting down on her bottom lip slightly. “I know I _shouldn’t_ know, but, knowing helped me at Canary Wharf, yeah? Plus, I want to make sure that… That John isn’t.. That he isn’t born, I s’pose. He won’t live for long, and I can’t do all of that again, Doctor. I just, _can’t_.”

The Doctor’s expression softened, and he looked down at the ground for a moment, before he sighed, nodding his head slowly. Rose didn’t know TOO much about the future, admittedly. There was nothing they could do to stop the Daleks right now (though the thought burned him up inside) and though it was risky, after everything she had been through… how could he deny her this?

“As long as you don’t interfere _too_ much. There isn’t much you know about my life without you, so most of the events coming up will be new to you. Or… maybe we could block out most of the memories for _now_ , and arrange for them to trigger when the stars start to disappear? I’m just not sure we should allow those events to influence your actions from here on in.”

Rose let out a sigh, but looked at her lap for a moment, pursing her lips. Having her memories taken from her was an uncomfortable thought, but she trusted The Doctor, at least. So, she simply nodded her head.

“You’re just taking _those_ events, right? Not… not my memories of John or Tony, or… anyone else?”

“Of course I won’t take those memories. You just won’t remember how John was created, or how you knew Donna before she showed up on the TARDIS. It’s just a gap in your memory, but you’ll know that the memories have been taken from you. It’s a strange feeling, but I promise, you’ll get them back.” The Doctor assured her, and Rose let out a quiet, thoughtful hum. “First things first, though!”

The Doctor pushed himself to stand up, holding out his hand towards Rose with a warm smile. “I believe I’ve got some tests to run! Just humour me, alright?”

“Oh alrigh’ Doctor! Since it’s in your name and all, I’d be mad to turn down a check-up!” Rose agreed with a dramatic sigh, abandoning her mug in favour of taking The Doctor’s hand and standing up. “I know it’s been on your mind since I hit my head.”

“Hit your.. Rose, you did more than just _hit your head_!” The Doctor insisted in disbelief, and Rose shrugged her shoulders.

“Honestly, Doctor, I’ve had a lot worse,” She confessed, and she got a quiet sigh in response.

“The worst part is, I know you mean it,” He muttered darkly, giving her hand a small squeeze. He led her out of the galley at that, and Rose couldn’t help but feel as though a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders and chest. The Doctor certainly had been angry to begin with, but he seemed to understand after he’d seen her memories, and she was glad of it.

If he’d been angry, or wanted her to reverse things and put them right? It would have been a completely devastating blow. She may have to lose some of her memories temporarily, but that was the best possible outcome that she could have gotten, really. For the first time since she’d been brought back to this time, she finally felt as though she could _relax_.

She moved to sit down on one of the beds as they entered the med-bay, shifting to lie down without any prompting from The Doctor, simply offering him a patient smile. She didn’t particularly enjoy being poked and prodded, and she’d always tried to avoid going to medical when she worked for Torchwood, but if this was enough to put The Doctor’s mind at ease, then she would deal with it.

The Doctor worked in silence for the most part, hooking Rose up to a few different machines, a soft beeping and whirring of mechanics being the only sound filling the room. Rose watched him for a time, a small smile on her face. She took time to trace over his features with her gaze, to the concentrated furrow in his brow as he looked over the results from her testing. She longed to reach out, to ease the wrinkles in his forehead that sprung up when he was worried or thinking too hard, to gently trace the line of his jaw with her fingertips.

The Doctor’s eyes met her own for a moment, and Rose’s cheeks warmed, prompting her to avert her gaze as quickly as she could.

_Boundaries, Rose._

Standing up, The Doctor looked at a monitor by her bed, moving to slide his fingers through his hair, leaving it messier and more unkempt than ever. Rose’s eyes followed the movement of his fingers for a moment, before she bit down on her bottom lip, trying to focus.

“So.. what’s the prognosis, _Doc_?”

The Doctor wrinkled his nose at that, and Rose couldn’t help but let out a small giggle, prompting him to offer her a smile.

“Well, it’s… _fascinating_ , actually. Your brain scans have shown that several portions of your brain, particularly the frontal and temporal lobes are far more active than they’ve ever been before. Well, since your last scan, at least. That wouldn’t be so odd over a period of time, as time passes and you get older, but this is… different. I’ve never seen activity like this in a human before.”

“Hold on, when did you scan my brain before?” Rose asked, sitting up slightly and resting her weight on her forearms.

“The first time I did a medical check on you,” The Doctor admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was a long time ago, not long after you started to travel with me. I just did an over-all check, just making sure there was nothing to worry about. I didn’t give it much thought, but, there’s a.. huge significant difference now. When I touched your temples earlier, to see your memories.. I **felt** you. You reached out to me with your mind, do you remember that?”

Rose nodded in confirmation, tilting her head to the side. “Yeah, John said I had low-level telepathy, and he was able to unlock more of my potential after we bonded. I haven’t exactly used it since he died, and I can only really communicate through touch, but...”

“See, that’s _definitely_ not normal. The changes in your brain activity could definitely attribute to that,” The Doctor mused, pulling up another scan before letting out a little breath. “And.. your cells. They’re regenerating at a faster rate than any normal human cell i’ve ever seen, not to mention your telomeres...”

“Telomeres?” Rose repeated, moving to sit up properly on the bed, letting her legs dangle over the side, fixing The Doctor with a curious stare.

“Telomeres rest at the end of chromosome strands. They’re stretches of DNA and proteins, and as cells divide, these stretches grow shorter and shorter. Eventually, they reach a cut off point, become senescent, and they die out.” The Doctor explained, pulling out his glasses from his pocket and slipping them on. He stared at the screens in front of him, focused, and Rose felt a thrill rise up inside of her at the sight of his brainy specs.

“When cells divide, your chromosomes are replicated, but human bodies have trouble when it comes to replicating _telomeres_. So, each time a chromosome creates a copy of itself, the telomere on the end of the strand gets smaller and smaller with each replication, and this is what causes humans to age.” The Doctor continued, and Rose froze, looking at him with wide eyes. Oh, this was about her ageing? “ _Your_ telomeres are ABLE to duplicate themselves along with your chromosomes, which means your body isn’t _biologically_ ageing.”

Rose’s mouth fell open at that, and she blinked owlishly at him. So it was true? She really wasn’t getting any older?

“Does that mean I won’t die of old age?” Rose asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion, and The Doctor let out a small breath, rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace.

“Ordinarily, I’d say you _would_ , it would just be an odd situation since you wouldn’t LOOK any older than you do now. However, your cells are also regenerating at a rapid rate, and coupled with that, your lifespan could actually lead to be… far longer than any human. You can die, of course… You were dying in the other timeline, so to speak, but.. not from old age or most natural means.”

The Doctor took off his glasses at that, and stared at her, and there was pain on his face. Rose couldn’t understand why he was _upset_.

“Isn’t that a good thing? If.. If I'm careful, I could live for a long time! I won’t die of old age!” Rose insisted, her eyes shining as she moved to stand up. “I can give you forever, just like I promised.”

“Rose.” The Doctor swallowed thickly, shaking his head for a moment. “You’ll never have a normal human lifespan… live a normal _human_ life. I know you came back to me, and you made this choice, but even staying with me here… one day you might want to lead a normal life.. to leave.”

“Doctor.” Rose let out a sigh, and moved forward, her hands pressing against his cheeks gently, staring at him intently. “I made my choice long ago. I’m never going to leave you. You _know_ how I feel about you. I married your human meta-crisis for Gods sake. He was human, _yeah_ , and living a short life would’ve been fine, if It had been with him… with _you_. But other than that? I don’t want to be anywhere else, to _**do**_ anything else. You… don’t need t’say anything to me, Doctor. This doesn’t need to be anything other than what it’s always been. I can just be sure I’ll keep my promise this time.”

The Doctor was stunned at the sincerity in Rose’s voice, and her words swam around in his head, leaving him dizzy. He had always had a weakness for Rose Tyler. He had been called out on it many a time, with the word _love_ being used on occasion, but stars above, did the implication terrify him. Rose was beautiful, brilliant and a beacon of everything good in his life. He couldn’t have imagined living without her in his life now, and thinking of himself in another timeline, torn away from her…

He stared at her for a long moment, before he let out a long breath, and touched his forehead against hers lightly, offering her a small, tired smile.

“Rose Tyler… What did I do to deserve you, hm?”

“Just lucky I guess,” Rose quipped in return, giving him the tongue touched grin that never failed to make his hearts soar. He knew how she felt, she was right about that, but he wasn’t quite ready to admit his own feelings, or even _try_ to open himself to love. There were still too many uncertainties ahead, but for now, having Rose by his side? That would always be enough.

“The real question is,” The Doctor suddenly spoke, pulling away from Rose’s hands to turn back to the screens beside the bed. Rose’s hands slowly fell, and she rubbed at her arm, averting her eyes to the floor once more. “What caused all of this? You clearly have some kind of connection to the TARDIS, but…” He turned back to Rose, suddenly serious. “Rose? What do you remember about the game station? Back at Canary Wharf, you said that you killed the emperor of the Daleks. How did you know that?”

Rose hesitated for a moment, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I dunno, I just.. know. I don’t remember a lot about what I did exactly, just.. fragments. I know that I opened up the heart of the TARDIS, and there was this.. singing, and..” Rose trailed off for a moment, and The Doctor waited patiently. “I.. looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me. I could see… _everything_.” Her voice was a whisper, and The Doctor’s hand closed into a tight fist.

“You absorbed the entirety of the time vortex. I took it out of you because it was burning you up from the inside, but I was too late. No-one can absorb the time vortex without… _changing_ , somehow. It killed me just to have it for even a few seconds. I thought you had gotten lucky, but… no.” The Doctor shook his head, oblivious to how Rose had stilled at his words. “You forged a direct bond with the TARDIS. Your new lifespan, your lack of aging, the telepathy.. it’s the TARDIS. You’re completely connected to the TARDIS.”

He looked back at Rose to gauge her reaction, only to freeze at the look in her face. Her eyes were shining, and she looked, for lack of a better word, devastated.

“Rose…?”

“I.. I _killed_ you. It was _me_.” Rose’s voice was quiet, and she closed her eyes tightly. She had never really known what had caused The Doctor to regenerate. She had assumed at first that it was something the Dalek’s did to him, but no. He had taken the time vortex out of _her_ , and it had killed him.

“Rose, Rose, no, you _saved_ me.” The Doctor pulled her into another tight hug, gently cupping the back of her head. “They would have killed me over and over until there was nothing left.. not to mention, they would have turned the entire human race into Daleks. I wouldn’t want you to try to do it again, but things would have gone **very** differently without you there.”

Rose’s arms tightened around his waist, and she buried her face into his chest, letting out a shaky breath. That was at least… _something_ to think about. There were times where she still missed his leather jackets and big ears, though she wouldn’t trade her Doctor for anything now. The thought of being responsible for his death, even indirectly, was enough to cause her great pain.

“Sorry,” She mumbled against his chest, before she pulled back, offering him a weak, shaky smile. “I just.. it caught me by surprise, I s’pose.”

The Doctor offered her a smile, nodding his head once. “It’s been.. a hectic day. You should get some rest. I’ll have to do some checks on the TARDIS, make sure she’s alright after everything that happened. Are you gonna be okay?”

Rose nodded, letting out a small sigh. “Yeah, ‘course. I could do with a good sleep, I think. What about repressing our memories of the future, though?”

“We can do it tomorrow, once everything has settled down a little.” The Doctor assured her. Truth be told, he still had a lot of questions to ask her, but she had been through a lot, and he needed space of his own in order to process everything. Rose let out a quiet hum of affirmation, and moved towards the door, glancing over her shoulder at him.

“G’night Doctor.”

“...Good night, Rose.” The Doctor’s voice was quiet in response, and he turned to look at the screens once more, his lips tightening into a thin line.


	15. Nostalgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not overly happy with this chapter and it took me way too long to write. It's pretty much a filler chapter, but I didn't want to rush straight into Smith and Jones. I felt like there were still some things Rose needed to sort through before she did all of that. Still! Smith and Jones starts next chapter, so that's something to look forward to!

Rose rolled onto her side in bed, curling up into a small ball. A soft sigh escaped her, and she hugged her pillow to her chest, burying her face into it. Sleep hadn’t come easily, despite how tired she felt. Her mind was swimming with everything she’d learned; a new lifespan, never truly ageing? Bonding with the TARDIS had changed her irreversibly, hadn’t it? It didn’t change how she felt about staying with The Doctor or the choices she had made that had led her here, but… it was certainly something to think about.

A big life change.

“He wasn’t very happy about it, was he?” Rose whispered aloud, and she heard a hum in response, though there was almost a sense of exasperation within the sound. Since she had returned, Rose had been able to understand the TARDIS more and more – and now she knew what had caused it, it _did_ make sense.

“I know he’ll get over it eventually, but I don’t want him to just ‘ _get over it_ ’, I want him to accept it, maybe even be _happy_ that I can actually keep my promise,” Rose continued, moving to sit up in bed, still hugging her pillow to her chest. Slowly, the lights thrummed to life, remaining dim as to not overwhelm Rose with brightness right away. The TARDIS flickered the lights by way of response, and Rose let out a long sigh.

“I s’pose you’re right. I just need to give it time to sink in, for both of us.” She agreed, dropping her pillow down onto the bed. She stood up, stretching her arms up over her head with a small grimace as she tried to work out the kinks in her tired muscles, and headed towards her en suite bathroom, ready to shower and start off the day.

Stars above, she really needed to start working out again. Now she was back in her younger body, she was really feeling just how much weaker it was. At Torchwood she went through a fair bit of training and though her running kept her in shape, she also had a gym routine. Was there a gym on the TARDIS? Something to ponder at least. One problem at a time.

Rose had a plan, of sorts. The Doctor would block out whatever memories he needed to for the both of them, and then she would go to her old flat and take some last momentos with her. The Doctor had told her in another life that she and Jackie were officially dead according to all public records, and that was how it should remain. People would come to empty out the flat eventually, and before that happened, Rose wanted to take what little she had been unable to grab to give to Jackie.

Rose stopped as she passed her vanity, pressing a kiss to her finger and lightly touching the picture of herself and Jackie she had taken for herself from the photo album. Today marked the day when things would really change, after all. The Doctor knew the truth, her mum was safe, and she had a new life to lead.

As she showered, she tried to let all of her tension and worry wash off of her body, and once she was dried and dressed, slipping on her now signature blue jacket and converse, her hair teased into light curls with the aid of her new alien hairdryer, she felt ready to take on whatever would come her way.

* * *

“There she is!” The Doctor’s voice was cheerful as Rose headed into the console room, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sound. “Finally rising up from her nest!”

“Shut up,” Rose shot back at him, running over towards the console itself, flashing The Doctor a small grin. The Doctor returned it, flipping a few switches before letting out a little sigh, turning to face her properly.

“Sleep okay?” He asked, and there was a note of seriousness in his voice. Rose glanced up at him, offering him a smaller smile at the question.

“It was alrigh’, bit restless, but I don’t think i’ve had a completely restful sleep in like a year,” she admitted, lightly wrapping one of her curls around her finger. She straightened up after a second, moving to clap her hands together with a bracing smile. “Anyway! We should probably take these memories away before the universe implodes or somethin’.”

“Right! Yes, implosion is bad,” The Doctor agreed, nodding his head once. He stepped forward, but didn’t reach out for her temples right away. He simply watched her, a question in his eyes. He didn’t speak for a few moments, before finally; “I’m sorry. For how I reacted when you told me. I took some time to really run over what you said, really dug into your test results to see what we were dealing with. I still don’t know what happened to your original consciousness in your current body. Before the TARDIS pulled you back, you were just… Rose Tyler. What happened to her? I don’t know, and that’s what scares me.”

Rose didn’t reply for a moment, mulling over everything in her mind. The more she thought about it, about herself and her actions in this new timeline… she wasn’t as _mature_ as she had been in Pete’s world. She was certainly more mature than she **HAD** been, but her moments of petulance hadn’t vanished for good. Sometimes, she still felt as though she were nineteen years old in spirit.

“I think we sort of… became one?” Rose guessed, biting down on her bottom lip slightly. “M’not totally sure, but… she didn’t just vanish when I got pulled in here. We’re the same person, so we sort of got all… meshed together. She’s still in here, but she’s me, too. we’re sort of.. more than we were before. It’s _weird_.”

“It’s always weird on the TARDIS,” The Doctor agreed, a wry smile on his face. The remaining tension that had been in his shoulders seemed to fade at her reassurances, however, and he let out a small breath, moving his fingers to her temples. Rose closed her eyes at his touch, and as she felt his presence at the edge of her mental barriers, she dropped them instantly, allowing him access. His mental presence was warm and curious and so very much like The Doctor, it was comforting. As such, she couldn’t help but reach out to him with her own mind, and she let out a shuddering sigh as they connected.

The Doctor stilled for a moment, but slowly, he too relaxed, welcoming the touch, the brief respite from the emptiness inside of him. It was intoxicating, somehow, being so enveloped in Rose’s mind, he almost didn’t want to leave. No. **No** , he had to find her memories. He had to block them out. He pulled away from her mental caress for a moment, seeking out the memories he knew he would need to repress.

Rose seemed to understand his intent, and she reached out, guiding him to the correct section of her mind where she had been keeping those memories. He sifted through them carefully, making sure to not rush. He didn’t want to block out the memories that she wanted to keep hold of, after all, just the things that could provide hints to the future.

Once he’d found everything he wanted to corral and block off, he created a room of sorts, storing all of them inside of it and locking them behind a mental door, only to be unlocked when Rose heard a single, specific phrase.

‘ _The stars are going out’_ he whispered as he sealed the door shut. With that done, The Doctor pulled himself from Rose’s mind with great difficulty, and he moved his fingers from her temples. Immediately, he wrapped his arms securely around her body instead as she suddenly slumped forward in his arms, having lost consciousness.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” The Doctor assured her quietly, moving to lift her up bridal style in his arms. She wouldn’t be out of it for long, just long enough for him to wipe his own memories, really. He carefully sat Rose down in the captain’s chair, his hand reaching out to gently brush some of her hair away from her face. He sighed after a moment, turning away from her and focusing his mind inwards. He had to locate the memories that Rose had shown him the night prior.

As he too locked out those new memories, he winced, opening up as his eyes as they were cleared from his mind. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but though he knew he had just wiped something from his mind, he couldn’t remember what it was, exactly. It was something he wasn’t supposed to know, at least.

He looked over at Rose as she began to stir and wake up, offering her a small, cheery grin. “Oh, she’s up again! Rose Tyler, don’t you spend enough time sleeping already?” He teased, and Rose wrinkled her nose slightly at him in response.

“Did it work?” She asked, pushing herself to sit up a little more comfortably, moving to rub at her temples with her fingertips gently.

The Doctor moved around the console, pressing a few buttons as he went, and cast her a brief look, one eyebrow rising upwards. “You tell me.”

Rose was silent for a moment, a small frown on her face as she wracked her brain for some answers. What did she want to forget? She… couldn’t remember. That was a good sign, wasn’t it? She could still remember John, knew he was made from The Doctor somehow, but, she couldn’t remember **HOW** , exactly…

“I dunno. I think it did,” Rose finally decided, and pushed herself off of the chair, offering him a smile. “Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask you about. I was thinkin’, my mum and I will be listed as dead since no-one can find us, yeah?” She guessed, and The Doctor glanced at her, giving her a small nod in response. “Well, I was wonderin’ if I could go back to the flat, maybe some pick up some things before someone comes to clear it out.”

“You don’t _need_ to be listed as dead,” The Doctor pointed out, turning to lean against the console, his arms folding over his chest. “We could rent out the flat for a few months, you can keep your things there.”

“Givin’ me a chance to run away, are you Doctor? Somethin’ to run back to?” Rose noted, and shook her head at him. “No, no, it’s best it’s done with. No good it jus’ sittin’ there gatherin’ dust. I’d rather someone who needs a house is able to get one instead of it just sitting there empty.”

“Are you sure?” The Doctor asked, observing her carefully, and Rose nodded her head once.

“Yeah. Yeah, jus’ let ‘em think we’re gone. S’just better that way.” She offered The Doctor a light smile. “You’re stuck with me, like it or not.”

“Like it or not?” The Doctor repeated, before he let out a dramatic, long suffering sigh. “Oh when you put it like that, I just get all _giddy_ with excitement.” He gave her a smile, however, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Right then, Rose Tyler…. Allons-y!”

* * *

Rose let out a sigh as she sat down with a cup of tea in her hand, several boxes lying around her. She crossed her legs, sipping out of the mug and offering a smile to The Doctor who was dutifully packing some of the things she’d picked out to keep in a box.

The TARDIS stood directly in the living room, as neither of them had wanted to draw too much attention to themselves by carrying boxes outside of the flat. If Rose was supposed to be dead, it would do no good for her old friends to spot her packing things into a mysterious blue box, after all.

“I didn’t realise we had so much stuff.” Rose admitted, taking another small sip of her tea, setting it down on the coffee table after a moment. “I s’pose you live somewhere for long enough, you just end up keepin’ all sorts of junk.”

“We could just pack it all onto a spare room in the TARDIS, if you like. She’s got plenty of them, and you wouldn’t need to throw anything away, then.” The Doctor suggested, applying some tape to the box he had finished packing.

Shaking her head slightly, Rose offered him a smile. “No, it’s… I’m s’posed to be dead, yeah? Be a bit weird if they came in here and literally everything was missing. Besides, it’ll only just sit and gather dust anyway.” She lightly bit down on her thumb nail for a moment before picking up another photo album she had missed during her first quick attempt at finding things for her mother to take with her. She opened it up, smiling faintly at the sight of an image of herself and Mickey as young teenagers.

The Doctor watched her for a moment, silent and contemplative, before he tapped his fingers against the top of the box he had just sealed up. “Your brother – Tony, right? What’s he like? Or – _well_ , going to be like, I s’pose.”

Rose looked up at him at that, surprised by the question. “You’ve seen my memories, yeah? You didn’t wipe those ones from your head, did you?”

“No, I’ve still got them, but I got all of your memories in a kind of.. rush order. I could see he meant the world to you, though.” The Doctor admitted, and Rose’s expression softened even further.

“He did. Makes me wish I had a picture of him to keep with me, y’know? He was just such a good, sweet kid. Mum and dad spoiled him rotten, but it never made him selfish or unkind. He loved space, wanted to be an astronaut when he grew up.” Rose let out a little laugh, and The Doctor couldn’t help but smile with her.

“Did he?"

“Oh yeah, he loved hearing all of our stories, mine AND John’s. He had more than me, of course, so he and Tony would always play ‘Doctor’” Rose confessed, and The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up. Rose shot him a small grin at his obvious curiosity at that. “Tony idolised John – you. He loved pretending to be The Doctor, and I would sometimes be his companion and John would always be some alien he had to fight. John made him his own sonic screwdriver, too. It was jus’ a little thing… didn’t have half of the settings yours does. I gave it to him for his seventh birthday. That was the day before I…” Rose trailed off for a moment. “Well, the day before I came back here, anyway. He was a good kid, y’know? I know he’ll be a good kid without me and John there, too. He’s got mum to tell him stories, and Mickey! He’ll be fine, even without me.”

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor’s words were sincere, and Rose glanced up at him before letting out a quiet sigh and shooting him a smile.

“Don’t be. It was my choice, remember? You need to stop bein’ sorry for things that I do. Tony’s still gonna have a good life, and I’ve got my memories.” She pushed herself up to stand, dusting off her pants and setting the photo album down on the coffee table. “C’mon, sooner we get this done, then we can go swannin’ off to save planets like I know you’re dyin’ to do.”

“Oh, read me like a book, you have,” The Doctor sighed, but he stood up too, offering her a small smile in return. “There’s not much left to do, honestly. Just your mum’s room.”

“Better get crackin’ then.” Rose clapped her hands together, picking up her mug and draining off the rest of her tea. The entire process felt emotionally draining, but the sooner that she could put it behind her, the better she would feel.

* * *

All in all, the process hadn’t taken as long as she had expected it would. Had she still been doing this when she was twenty, she would have taken all of the time in the world, reminiscing and falling prey to her own emotions. As it were, she was mentally closer to thirty now, (despite the petulant streak from her younger half that she had inherited) and that gave her a more mindful approach of what she had to do.

So, as she loaded the last of the boxes into the TARDIS, Rose turned, staring at the flat she had grown up inside. Despite her pragmatic approach, she still felt a rush of nostalgia and a strange sense of sadness. This hadn’t been her home for years, not really, and yet – leaving it behind was harder than she could ever have expected.

The Doctor stepped beside her, taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort and reassurance. Rose returned the gesture, turning to give him a sad little smile in response. Neither of them spoke – they didn’t need to say anything at all. Instead, they both turned, heading back inside of the TARDIS.

Rose closed the door behind her, taking one last look at the flat, before she pressed her forehead against the wood. She had the future to look forward to now, whatever that lay ahead of her and The Doctor, she would take it in her stride with ease.

“’Reckon we can get some chips?” She asked after a moment of silence, turning and walking over to the console with a smile. The Doctor watched her for a moment, his face a mask. Eventually, he moved, darting around the console with Rose in close pursuit, and a small grin appeared on his face.

“Well, we can’t have you missing out on your favourite snack, can we? Might even grab some for myself!”

“Well in that case, you better be paying,” Rose retorted, smirking at him as the TARDIS started to shake and whirr to life. She clutched onto the closest rail with a laugh as The Doctor wrinkled his nose at her.

“Oh, now who’s being a tight-wad?” He shot back, and Rose’s laughter only grew.

“Still you!”

* * *

As Rose tossed a chip into her mouth, she closed her eyes, savouring the taste for a moment. Chips on Pete’s world really weren’t the same as the greasy potato snacks she’d grown up with on her original version of her home planet. She sat with her legs slightly crossed with a bag of chips resting on the table between herself and The Doctor. Sharing, they’d decided, was probably the best option for them, though Rose couldn’t resist one more dig at him owing her another meal.

“So where are we headed next, anyway?” She asked, once she’d swallowed, tilting her head to the side. The Doctor let out a soft and thoughtful hum at the question, stretching out his legs and leaning back in his chair.

“S’pose we could always just put the TARDIS controls on random and see where it takes us… or, well, we never did end up going to Barcelona, did we?” He mused, and Rose immediately lit up.

“What, the _planet_ Barcelona? You’re right, you keep sayin’ you’re gonna take me there, but you never do!” She agreed, and The Doctor shot her a grin.

“Oh, well, I’d hate to disappoint you again. Barcelona it is. – Dogs with no noses, here we come! Cats with no ears, too, actually. Plenty to look at while we’re there.” He glanced down at his hands for a moment, and something washed over his expression. It was curiousity, in a sense, and he lifted his hand up, moving it slowly through the hair, noticing how the hairs on the back of it stood to attention.

Static energy. _Interesting_.

He stood up without another word at that sudden realisation, heading for the door of the chip shop, leaving Rose looking after him in bewilderment, her mouth still full of chips. She swallowed quickly, wiping her hands down on a napkin, and quickly followed after him.

“Doctor! Doctor, wait!”

She was loathe to leave behind a meal unfinished, especially when she was enjoying it so much, but she wasn’t going to let him just go running off without her. She moved out of the chippy, only to stumble to a stop as she almost ran directly into his back. He looked thoughtful, his hand raised up into the air, and he turned in a slow circle.

“D’you feel that? Static build-up,” He told her, squinting slightly as he tried to pinpoint just where the source of it all was.

“Maybe there’s a storm coming?” Rose guessed, but she highly doubted it. If The Doctor was bringing it up, It was likely there was some other reason for it.

“No, it’s different. There’s been no noticeable drop in atmospheric pressure lately, and look at the swell of the clouds. It’s a bright, chilly but calm day in old London town, according to all the signs. The static electricity is building up steadily, but it’s less concentrated here.” The Doctor told her, still keeping his focus on the surrounding area.

“So where’s it comin’ from?” Rose asked, frowning slightly, and The Doctor’s eyebrows shot upwards before he started to walk once more.

“Now that’s the big question!” Rose fell into step beside him, trusting The Doctor’s instincts to lead them wherever they would need to be. It didn’t take too long, either. Now that he’d picked up on the collecting energy, he could feel it thrumming through his body the closer they got. His eyes roamed the surrounding landscape thoughtfully for a while, only to pause as he came upon the Royal Hope Hospital.

“There.” His tone was certain as he gestured up to the hospital, and as Rose shot him a questioning look, he chose to explain. “Plasma coils. They’re surrounding the hospital, which is.. a bit odd, honestly. What are plasma coils doing here?”

“What are plasma coils, exactly?” Rose asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Now he’d pointed it out, she could feel the light tingle of electricity against her skin. It wasn’t enough to be incredibly noticeable, but for The Doctor, it likely stood out as clear as day.

“An artificial collection of ionized gas which creates a field of electricity. They’re used to build electric charge at either very low or very high pressures, normally. If someone wanted to generate electricity for some reason on Earth, they’d either use a plasma coil at this level, or head up into the mountains, I s’pose, where the pressure is higher.” The Doctor let out a small sigh, shaking his head slightly. It seemed like something was going on in there, and he really SHOULD figure out what it was.

“I’d say they’d been building up for maybe two days or so? There’s no telling what’ll happen when they reach full charge.” The Doctor’s jaw worked for a moment, but he glanced at Rose with an unspoken question in his eyes. Rose lifted her eyebrows slightly at him, fighting back a small snort of amusement. Did he really think she’d pass up the chance to find out what was going on here?

“I think Barcelona’s gonna have to wait, Doctor. I’ve got these sudden pains in my stomach.” Rose told him, bending slightly and pressing her hands to her lower abdomen, twisting her expression into one of pain.

“Pains in your…? Rose, why didn’t you say anything before?” The Doctor turned immediately at her words, evidently very concerned, all thoughts of plasma coils forgotten for the moment. Rose supposed she should be flattered he was so taken in by her acting skills. She must have improved over eight years, at least. She fought back a smile, but she gave him a very pointed look.

“Doctor.”

“What? ...Oh.” Realisation seemed to wash over The Doctor suddenly, and he straightened up, moving an arm around Rose in order to ‘support’ her. “Oh! Yes! Molto bene! I do believe you’re right, Rose Tyler. We should check you In at the hospital right away, I think!”


	16. Smith and Jones Part One

“Please tell me you’ve found somethin’, I really don’t wanna have to sit here for another whole day.” Rose’s words held a small hint of aggravation as she reclined in her hospital bed. She shot a petulant glance up at The Doctor as he strolled towards her, moving to take a seat by her bedside.

“What, not comfortable?” The Doctor asked innocently, and Rose shot him a scathing glare. “This was _your_ big idea, remember?”

“I didn’t think I’d be an overnight patient, Doctor,” Rose replied in a huff, closing her eyes for a moment. “You’re usually a bit faster at getting results.”

“Oh, off she goes,” The Doctor let out a dramatic sigh, reaching out to pat her hand before letting out a quiet laugh. “I’m sorry, really. I did say we could switch and _I_ could be the patient.”

“Brilliant that, and when they lock you up in a lab somewhere after they find out you’ve got two hearts and a binary vascular system, I can mount a rescue all by myself.” Rose moved her finger to gently prod his chest as she opened one eye, but there was little fight left in her. Her shoulders were already easing, and there was a small smile on her face.

“I’m sure you’d have come up with something,” The Doctor countered, voice cheerful. After a nurse had passed them by, he shifted a little closer to the bed. “I did some looking around while you were sleeping last night. I really can’t find any reason for the plasma coils to be gathering over this place. I checked the computer systems, there’s nothing out of sync or unusual there. It’s just a regular old Earth hospital.”

Rose bit down on her bottom lip thoughtfully at that, turning and shifting herself to keep her voice quiet as a consultant entered the ward, a bunch of medical students trailing behind him.

“So if it’s not something or someone in the hospital causing this, then maybe it’s somethin’ on the outside?” she guessed, and The Doctor nodded his head thoughtfully.

“It’s definitely looking like it, but then, who would want to target a random Earth hospital? I’m missing something, some big piece of the puzzle. Still, those plasma coils must almost be pulsing with electric energy at this point,” He mused.

“And what happens when whoever’s doing this gets enough of this energy?” Rose asked, and The Doctor made a face, inclining his head to the side slightly.

“ _There’s_ the big question.”

Rose frowned in response to that, but she looked up as Mr Stoker and his students approached her bed, offering the group of them a friendly smile. She could re-call Stoker from the day prior as he’d visited her and looked over her chart, and asked if she’d minded if he brought his students to see her. Rose hadn’t exactly expected to be staying for long, so she’d said yes.

Her eyes roamed towards one of the students in the group, observing her thoughtfully for a moment. There was something almost **familiar** about her, but Rose couldn’t quite put her finger on it. For some reason, her mind wanted to reject the thought that she’d ever seen this woman before, so she acquiesced, pushing the errant thought into the back of her mind as Stoker addressed her.

“Now then, Mrs Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?”

“I dunno, it still hurts every now and then, I just can’t place i-” Rose flinched, her fingers curling into the bedding, and The Doctor reached out to cover her hand with his own, watching her carefully. He knew that she was faking, and his own reaction was rehearsed, too. (Or, he had convinced himself, at least.) “Sorry – _sorry_ , I’m okay. It’s passed.” She waved her hand apologetically.

“Rose Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains.” Stoker informed the group of students around him. “Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me.”

The pretty student that Rose had thought looked familiar then stepped forward at his words, a stethoscope around her neck. She observed both Rose and The Doctor with a curious eye for a moment as she bent down beside the bed.

“Wasn’t the best idea running around with chips this morning if you’ve got stomach pains, was it?” She chastised, as she looked at Rose, who immediately felt bewildered. Her voice was familiar too, though Rose couldn’t exactly place it. Still, the accusation was certainly _bemusing_.

“Wait, you went out and got chips? Rose if you were that desperate for different food you could’ve just asked.” The Doctor’s voice seemed just as confused as she felt, but there was a note of distinct amusement within it, too. Rose looked between him and ‘Jones’, shaking her head quickly.

“But… I didn’t. I haven’t moved!” Rose insisted, and the student looked back at The Doctor.

“You were there too. Both of you.” She informed him. “On Chancellor Street this morning? You just came up to me with chips. You offered me one.” She gestured towards Rose at that, and Rose tilted her head to the side.

“Rose, offer a stranger her chips? Not sure about that, she won’t even let me touch them sometimes.” The Doctor quipped, and Rose shot him a small glare.

“Shut up.” She tucked some hair behind her ear, offering the student an apologetic smile. “Sorry, it.. wasn’t us. I honestly haven’t been able to get out of this bed much, and I definitely don’t feel like eatin’ chips right now. You can ask the nurses if y’don’t believe me.”

“That’s.. weird.” The student noted, a small frown pulling at her lips. “It really looked like you two. Don’t suppose you’ve both got twins who spend time with each other, do you?” It was a weak guess, and they all knew it. Rose could only assume that the student had run into a future version of herself and The Doctor, though she couldn’t imagine why they would have gone right up to her like that.

“Nope, nothing. Must have just been mistaken identity!” The Doctor offered cheerfully, and Stoker let out a long suffering sigh at the foot of Rose’s bed.

“As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones.” He said pointedly, and Martha looked down at the ground sheepishly.

“Sorry. Right.” She reached out, pressing the chest-piece to Rose’s chest, listening to her heart-beat for a moment. “Is there any chance you might be pregnant at all?” She asked, and Rose’s cheeks warmed slightly in response.

“Been asked that one, and no, there’s not.” She was quick to assure, and Martha’s eyebrows rose upwards at the almost immediate dismissal.

“Are you sure? I mean, even if you think you’re being safe...” She looked towards The Doctor, who was very pointedly keeping his eyes away from Rose. They were both red in the face, and Rose immediately shook her head, grinning weakly.

“No! No, really. there’s.. no chance. I already took.. tests. All negative.” She assured her, and she could see Martha looking between them, confused by their embarrassment. Understandable, Rose supposed. She and The Doctor were supposed to be acting as a married couple – Mr and Mrs Smith. The only reason was so Rose could list him as her next of kin on the admission forms. It hadn’t really occurred to either of them to list The Doctor as her brother or some other family member. Rose rubbed the back of her neck, and was relieved when Stoker cleared his throat pointedly. The student looked up, startled out of her thoughts.

“Er, I don't know. Stomach cramps?”

“That is a symptom, not a diagnosis.” Stoker replied wryly. “And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart.” He reached to pick up the clip-board hanging on the end of the bed, but received an electric shock, dropping it quickly onto the bed. Rose and The Doctor shared a look, and Rose knew what he was thinking without needing to ask. The plasma coils were nearing full charge.

“That happened to me this morning.” Jones said in some surprise, and two more of the students affirmed that they too had experienced some static shocks from touching some metal around the hospital.

“That's only to be expected.” Stoker replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders. “There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by...” He trailed off. “Anyone?”

“Benjamin Franklin.” The Doctor piped up, and Rose rolled her eyes, a fond smile immediately finding its way onto her face as Stoker seemed pleasantly surprised.

“Correct.”

Of course, being The Doctor, he simply couldn’t just leave it there, and he continued, his voice still cheerful and completely serious. “My mate, Ben! That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked..”

“Quite...” Stoker replied, and Rose fought back a giggle at the uncertain look he threw The Doctor’s way.

“Do you remember, Rose?” The Doctor asked, his expression earnest. Rose let out a thoughtful hum in response. She knew she shouldn’t encourage him, but she DID in fact remember that particular adventure, and honestly, she thought that Stoker was a little bit stuck up. Throwing him off of his game was more fun than it should be.

“Is that when you got electrocuted?” She asked, giving him her tongue touched grin, and The Doctor shot her a little wink.

“That’s the one!”

“Moving on...” Stoker muttered, giving the two of them another odd glance. As he left, Rose’s grin only grew as she heard him mutter to a nearby nurse; “I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric for both Mr AND Mrs Smith..” The students followed after him, Jones looking back to give both her and The Doctor curious smiles.

The Doctor waited until they were gone before he turned to look at Rose, his eyebrows raised up high. “Chips on Chancellor Street?”

“Reckon she saw a future version of us, then?” Rose asked, moving to sit up a little more comfortably in her bed.

“Most likely. Well, I do love a good mystery! I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough!” He clapped his hands together, looking chirpy, before he quickly began to sober as he noticed another nurse nearby getting an electric shock. He stood up, making his way towards a nearby window, and peered out of it, looking up at the sky. “Something’s coming. Looks like we’re in it for the long haul now, though.”

“Never stopped us before, has it?” Rose pointed out with a cheeky smile, and The Doctor’s grin quickly returned in full force.

“Nope!” He confirmed, popping the ‘p’ as he spoke. “I think I’ll take another look around the place. Now that the charge has built up significantly, something new might pop up. Stay out of trouble.” He pointed at her, words meant to be threatening, and Rose made a motion of drawing a cross over her heart with her finger.

The Doctor brought two fingers to his head and threw them outwards in a little salute to her as he moved towards the door, and Rose returned the gesture playfully, settling back into her pillows with a small, tired sigh. She didn’t know how long this was going to take, and she supposed she should at least try to get comfortable.

* * *

Rose wasn’t sure how long The Doctor was gone for, but she was sinking into her thoughts purely out of boredom. She had never enjoyed hospitals, even the med-bay on the TARDIS made her feel as though her skin were itching from the inside. As she heard the pitter-patter of rain hitting the window, she turned her gaze to watch, her lips pursed slightly.

Her fingers moved to play with the threading of the blanket lying over her legs as she watched the rain hit the glass panes and slide upwards. Her eyes followed the movement as though she were in a trance, and she didn’t even realise the rain was moving in the wrong direction for a whole ten seconds. When it finally seemed to sink in, her eyes widened, and she pushed the blankets off of her body. Quickly, she stood up, pulling on a dressing gown, and made her way over towards the window. Her fingers pressed against the glass curiously, watching the rain rise up from the ground and back into the sky.

She peered up as best as she could, noticing a large black cloud hovering overhead, and her lips pulled into a frown. It looked like they were **really** in the thick of it, now. She had to get to The Doctor.

Just as she decided on that course of action, lightning and thunder crashed in the sky, and the entire hospital shook. Rose was thrown to the side with a startled cry as multiple tremors and quakes rocked the building. She could hear other patients, nurses and doctors screaming in terror and fear at what felt like a series of terrible earthquakes. Rose dropped down onto her knees and covered her head, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as she waited for it to pass.

She could hear items crashing to the ground and smashing around her, but kept her head covered, ignoring the sudden churning of her stomach. As it all finally subsided, Rose lifted her head, catching her breath and taking a moment to look around the ward. Everyone seemed shaken but mostly unharmed, and she let out a relieved breath, moving to push herself to stand, hand gripping on the rail of her bed.

Taking stock of herself, making sure she herself wasn’t hurt, Rose became suddenly aware of how dark it had gotten. Just moments before, there had been bright light shining into the room despite the rain. Now, it was noticeably darker. Slowly, Rose turned, tucking her hair behind her ear as she stared out of the window, her eyes wide.

“Oh, you are _kidding_ me.”

The moon. They were on the _bloody_ moon.

“Rose!”

The Doctor’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned quickly, opening her arms to accept the hug he immediately gave her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a relieved squeeze, which he returned. When they broke apart, he looked her over carefully, checking her for injuries. Rose could hear the frightened screams of the occupants of the hospital as they all realised where they were, and she grimaced slightly.

“Are you okay?” He asked, and Rose offered a nod and a smile as an answer, moving to her bag and pulling out her clothes as she did so. She was hardly going to be rushing around saving people in her pyjamas. The Doctor had already done _that_.

“I’m made of tough stuff, me,” She assured him, and The Doctor gave her a small smirk, moving to close the curtains around her bed in order to give her some privacy. Rose made sure to undress as quickly as possible, glad to get out of her pyjamas and into something she could really run around in. As she dressed, she reached out mentally towards the TARDIS, frowning to herself at how stretched the bond between them seemed to be.

She felt a gentle caress against the connection, and though it was weak, it was there. That was enough to calm most of her worries, and she quickly pulled on her shirt and her jacket, pausing only briefly as she heard Jones’ voice.

“All right now, everyone back to bed, we've got an emergency but we'll sort it out, don't worry.”

Rose couldn’t help but smile as she heard the calming but authoritative note in her tone. She moved and pulled on her converse, pushing aside the curtain with ease once she was done. The Doctor lifted his eyebrows in some interest at her, and nodded his head over towards Jones and one of the other students, who were moving towards the window.

“It's real. It's _really_ real.” Rose could hear the awe in Jones’ voice as she stared out at the surface of the moon, and she could completely understand. No-one expected to be just thrust onto the moon with no warning. Her friend seemed incredibly shaken (also understandable), but Jones seemed to be taking it all in her stride. “Hold on...” She reached out for the window, intending to open it.

“Don't! We'll lose all the air!” The student next to her cried out, moving to grab hold of her hand. She looked near tears, and Rose felt a stab of sympathy in her chest.

“But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out, it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?” Jones pointed out, and Rose glanced at The Doctor, who was watching the exchange with clear approval on his face. He glanced at Rose, and she simply rolled her eyes, nodding towards the students with a smile on her face.

“Very good point. Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?” The Doctor asked, stepping forward with Rose moving beside him.

“Martha.” The student replied, turning to look between The Doctor and Rose in some surprise, recognition seeming to dawn upon her.

“And it was Jones, wasn't it? Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?” The Doctor asked, moving towards the window to peer out of it thoughtfully.

“We can't be.” the other student broke out, a trembling sob leaving her lips.

“Obviously we are, so don't waste my time.” The Doctor replied flatly, not even sparing her a glance, and Rose shot him an irritated glare, moving over to the other student, gently setting her hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“Doctor!” She snapped, and he glanced at her, before looking away quickly. She shook her head, but turned to the student, smiling at her reassuringly. “What was your name?” she asked, her voice soft. She would let The Doctor talk to Martha for a moment, she would help who she could, even just a little bit.

“J-Julia Swales,” The woman replied in a tremulous voice, and Rose set her other hand on her shoulder, her expression gentle, but firm.

“Okay, Julia, I’m Rose. That’s The Doctor. We’re gonna help figure out what’s going on and get us home, but the best thing you can do is remain calm and help the patients here, yeah? I know you’re scared, and I don’t blame you, it’s a pretty scary situation, but you need to help people right now. Just take a big, deep breath for me, and try to calm down, okay?”

Julia nodded in response, taking a deep, shuddering breath and letting it out slowly, trying to focus on keeping herself as calm as possible.

“You’re doin’ brilliant,” Rose enthused gently, smiling at her. “A lot of the people in here are panicking now, and they’re gonna need your help. If you can help calm other nurses and doctors down too, then maybe you can try to get some sort of order.. at least you can look after the really sick patients here. I promise everything is gonna be okay.”

“Are you sure?” Julia asked quietly, her eyes wide. She was steadfastly keeping her gaze away from the window, Rose noted with some approval. She nodded, moving to take hold of her hands, giving them a soft squeeze.

“I know you might not believe it, but it’s not my first time on the moon. If anyone can fix things, it’s The Doctor. He’ll get you all home safe and sound,” Rose assured her, and Julia let out a shaky breath. She still seemed uncertain, but Rose didn’t have the chance to comfort her further. The Doctor seemed to be done talking to Martha, and the two of them were heading for the door.

“Rose, come on!” The Doctor called out, and Rose gave Julia’s hands one final squeeze before letting go and running towards him, reaching out and grabbing onto his hand instead once she was close enough. She flashed Martha a friendly smile, and the expression was returned.

“Where are we going?” She asked, as they moved quickly through the hallways, passing the still panicking patients and staff members. They manoeuvred between them as The Doctor replied.

“Patients lounge, Martha says there’s a balcony out there, we’re gonna take a look.” The Doctor replied, and Rose nodded quickly.

“So that’s what the plasma coils were for? Building up electrical energy to what, bring us to the moon? Why would anyone want to put a hospital on the moon?” Rose asked, and The Doctor didn’t reply, simply letting out a thoughtful noise as they came to a stop in front of a pair of glass doors. He and Martha shared a look, and both of them reached out at the same time, slowly pushing open the doors.

Slowly, the three of them walked out onto the balcony, and Rose let go of The Doctor’s hand in favour of holding onto the concrete barrier and leaning over it slightly. Despite the situation, she couldn’t help but smile as her gaze caught upon of the Earth, her eyes shining. She had missed sights like this, more than she could ever possibly say.

“We've got air. How does that work?” Martha asked in awe, moving to stand next to Rose.

“Just be glad it does.” The Doctor replied simply, moving to stand on Rose’s other side, offering her a small smile, which she gladly returned.

“I've got a party tonight.” Martha said quietly. The gravity of the situation seemed to be sinking in on her. The shock of it all only just now setting in. “It's my brother's twenty first. My mother's going to be really... really...” her voice broke slightly, and Rose’s gaze immediately softened.

“Are you okay?” She asked, and Martha simply nodded her head to confirm.

“Yeah, I am,” She assured her, and The Doctor watched her closely for a moment.

“Want to go back in?” He asked, and Martha immediately shook her head.

“No way. I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same, it's _beautiful_.” She turned to look out at the moonscape and the Earth in the distance, smiling slightly.

“You think?” The Doctor asked, shooting Rose a small smile, which she returned easily.

“How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are.” Martha gestured outwards, and The Doctor nodded his head.

“Standing in the Earthlight.”

“It never gets old, no matter how much you see it.” Rose admitted, taking a moment to appreciate the scenery. She could remember the first time The Doctor took her to the moon. It had become a resort, of sorts, a place for both humans and aliens to travel to in order to unwind and relax. She could remember sitting in front of a huge circular window, staring out at the Earth as she’d had a sweet alien woman named Cholta giving her a manicure.

“What, you’re saying you’ve been to the moon before, then?” Martha asked, giving Rose an odd look. Rose simply grinned, sharing a look with The Doctor, but didn’t bother to reply. Martha waited for a moment, but let out a small sigh, instead. “Okay, so… What do you think happened?”

“What do _you_ think?” The Doctor countered, and Rose shook her head slightly. She knew what he was doing… he was testing her. The Doctor loved meeting humans who had a clear head on their shoulders. He was too quick to brush off others, but that was why he had her… that little touch of human empathy.

“Extraterrestrial.” Martha sounded confident, and she looked at both Rose and The Doctor. “It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things.” She fell silent for a moment, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet. “I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home.”

The mention of Canary Wharf was a blow to the chest, and Rose inhaled quietly, before she reached out, gently touching Martha’s shoulder compassionately. Adeola… That name was familiar too. She didn’t recall seeing anyone by that name in Canary Wharf, as she’d been stuck with the void sphere for most of the disaster, but… wasn’t there someone called Adeola in Pete’s World? She was sure there was...

“I’m so sorry,” Rose said softly, frowning, and Martha shrugged her shoulders, keeping her gaze fixed on the Earth for a moment.

“Yeah.” She whispered.

“We were there, in the battle.” The Doctor told her, and Martha watched as his hand moved out towards Rose. Her hand reacted in kind, and their fingers intertwined together. They shared a look, and Martha noted how relieved they were just to be in each other’s presence. If they were in Canary Wharf… they must have come close to losing one another.

“I promise you, Mr Smith, Mrs Smith, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way.” Martha told them, and Rose offered her a smile in response.

“It's not Smith. Those aren’t our real names.” The Doctor told her lightly, his free hand moving to pull at the lobe of his ear lightly.

“Who are you, then?” Martha asked, a crease forming in her forehead as she watched the two of them.

“Rose Tyler.” Rose offered with a cheery grin, giving Martha a little wave with her free hand.

“And I'm the Doctor.” The Doctor added on the end, and Martha let out a little laugh.

“Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it then, Doctor Tyler?” She asked, and The Doctor shook his head.

“Nope. We’re not married.” He and Rose both wriggled their fingers, indicating that neither of them had a wedding band to show. “Just The Doctor.”

“How do you mean, just The Doctor?” Martha asked in disbelief.

“That’s what he goes by. That, or rude and not ginger.” Rose quipped, and The Doctor let out a long-suffering sigh at the jab, shaking his head solemnly at her.

“Oh, you really love to rub that in, don’t you?”

“What, people call you the Doctor?” Martha asked, cutting through their banter. She was still clearly confused, and Rose had to fight back the urge to giggle. As someone who was training to BECOME a doctor, she could only imagine what Martha thought of that moniker.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title.” Martha informed him, matter-of-fact. Rose grinned at the wounded look on The Doctor’s face.

“Oh, Martha Jones, not feeding into his ego! I like you!” She enthused, and Martha blinked, but offered Rose a smile in return. She didn’t know what to make of the other woman, OR this ‘Doctor’, but they seemed to know more about what was going on here than anybody else seemed to.

“Well, me and my ego better make a start, then. Let's have a look.” The Doctor sighed, moving to pick up a small pebble, tossing it up and down in the air briefly. “There must be some sort of-” He paused, moving to throw the pebble through the air. It seemed to hit an invisible barrier, which shimmered and vibrated slightly for a moment. “-Forcefield keeping the air in.”

“But if that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?” Martha asked, turning to The Doctor with a frown on her face.

“How many people in this hospital?” The Doctor asked, and Martha shrugged her shoulders.

“I don't know. A thousand?”

“One thousand people. Suffocating.” The Doctor replied, his expression grim.

Rose blew out a small breath, closing her eyes for a moment at the awful thought. “It’s never simple, is it? We better make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Why would anyone do that?” Martha asked, completely aghast.

“Head's up! Ask them yourself.” The Doctor replied, gesturing upwards as three huge ships began to descend towards the moon’s surface. Rose had never seen them before, but The Doctor’s face indicated he had.

“Blimey,” Rose muttered, watching quietly as the ships landed. The doors opened up, and creatures dressed all in black with huge helmets upon their heads began marching in formation towards the hospital. Already, Rose could hear the thrum of panic behind her as people realised what was heading towards them, and she closed her eyes for a moment. Whatever came next, she’d be ready.

“Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens.” Martha breathed, her eyes wide.

“Judoon.” The Doctor’s voice was dark as he spoke, and Rose turned towards him immediately, biting down on her bottom lip. That wasn’t a name she was really familiar with.

“Judoon? So, what do we know about them?” She asked, turning to watch as the Judoon continued to march towards the hospital. “Is this normal for them? I mean, why would they bring the hospital to the _moon_?”

“They're like police. Well, police for hire. They're more like interplanetary _thugs_.” The Doctor admitted, his expression dark. Now he knew that who were involved, he had to find out who they were after. He wasn’t going to let all of these lives be sacrificed because of how thick the Judoon could be. “Come on, we need to figure out what they’re here for.”

Rose nodded, following after The Doctor quickly as he turned and headed back inside of the hospital. Panic was rife now, and Rose was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the screaming and sobbing she could hear. Her fingers curled into a small fist, and she focused on walking. She hated not being able to do more for them, but as The Doctor had said to Donna, it was important to look at the bigger picture. Getting rid of the Judoon could help all of these people at once, and that was what they were going to do.


End file.
